Saving Grace
by HCMONSTER93
Summary: First of seven short stories about the Benedicts. (Note: Each soulfinder is made up, and not a part of the original story.) Wrickenridge was supposed to be a sleepy, quiet town. Somewhere safe. But, mere days after arriving, Grace Peterson is already in danger of her secret being revealed. And, when her soulfinder suddenly appears on her doorstep, the stakes have never been higher.
1. Prologue

My throat was sore. I felt like I'd just swallowed my own heart, hammering so hard I was numb to everything else. I couldn't feel my legs racing beneath me, or the freezing cold wind tearing at my skin, or Alex's hand in mine as he pulled me along. All I could think about were the men behind us, all armed to the teeth with guns.

But it wasn't the guns those men had that worried me.

"Gracie, come on!" Alex urged under his breath, pulling me further. I stumbled, taking a breath that seared the inside of my throat, but forced myself to move faster still. My brother didn't stop to look back, doubling his grip around my hand.

We skidded around the corner, Alex's free hand flying out to steady himself against the side of the train station building before he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Ignoring the stitch burning in my side, I clamped my hands around his arm and hauled him back to his feet as best as I could, my panicked eyes flicking over the scene around us.

What I saw by the train made my stomach turn cold.

"Oh god," I gulped, shaking in fear. "Alex, look!"

He lifted his head wryly. Stood by the door of the train, three huge thugs dressed completely in black were scanning the platform, obviously looking for us. They looked almost like military men, strong and decisive. Each of them probably carried at least one gun, concealed beneath their jackets. Still, as threatening as they appeared, it was the unseen that scared me the most.

They were Savants. All three of them. And if they were here for us, they had to be strong. _Really _strong.

Alex tightened his hold on me. I knew by looking at him that he wanted to give in as much as I did. I was that tired, it felt that even my bones ached in exhaustion. But his eyes narrowed when he followed my gaze, his entire body stiffening in anger. If I'd received the flight instinct when we were born, he'd definitely been given fight.

"We need to leave," I insisted quietly, pulling him back. His eyes flashed angrily, locked onto the men that still hadn't seen us. "Alex, please! There's no time!"

"Gracie," he started, flicking his eyes toward me irritably. I met his gaze, gulping hard. Shouts of frustration sounded behind me and I knew that we didn't have much time. Fear swelled in my chest and I felt my hands shaking in his. Slowly – far too slowly – Alex's expression softened and he nodded stiffly, shifting the bag awkwardly on his shoulder and almost kicking the door into the train station open.

A few on-lookers jumped in surprise as we stampeded through the station, ducking and weaving through the crowds without ever letting each other go. A murmur of unease seemed to collect around us, as though everyone knew we were in trouble and there was no way out.

But there had to be. I couldn't go back to that place. I wouldn't. I'd rather die.

The speakers overhead suddenly blared, and the announcer's voice rang in my head as he informed the passengers that the train into Glasgow had just pulled up at Platform 3 and would be departing in five minutes. Ahead of me, Alex slowed and I collided into the back of him abruptly, catching the back of his jacket to steady myself as he pushed his way slowly through a much thicker group of passengers, all rushing the same way as us.

"How much change have you got on you?" he asked me over his shoulder, shuffling as close to me as he could to keep his voice low and quiet.

I had to stretch onto my toes to hiss my reply in his ear. "Much more than we'll ever need."

"Good," he nodded with a frown. "There's a taxi rank out of this door and to the left. The moment we get out, run for the first one. If we get split up for any reason, head straight for the airport and get the first flight out to New York, okay?"

I hesitated. One, I didn't like the sound of going anywhere without Alex. He was in much more trouble than I was and if I left him here . . . I couldn't stand thinking about what they'd do to him. Two, we weren't supposed to be going to New York. He'd be expecting us to go there.

"Trust me," Alex said when we saw the sceptical look on my face. "We'll take another flight from there, but if they see us boarding a flight straight to Cassandra, they'll find us in no time. The harder we make it for them, the better."

It made sense, but I still didn't like it. Unfortunately, there wasn't any more time to formulate a safer plan. The huddled group of passengers we'd fought our way into had reached the door and Alex yanked my hood over my head before I could argue. Pursing my lips, I tucked my dark red hair behind my ears in an attempt to conceal it and reluctantly released Alex's hand. Casting him a sideways look, I ducked my head and fought my way out of the crowd onto Platform 3.

We should have known, even back then, that no matter where we ran, he'd always find us. The problem was, this time, I was unwittingly leading him straight to the one person I could never bear to lose.


	2. Chapter 1: Grace

"Are you sure you're alright, Gracie?"

I didn't bother turning to look at Alex, my eyes drifting between the small cottage houses that lined each side of the street Cassandra was driving down. To most people, they'd probably all look the same – two storeys, white-washed, bright green gardens, small white picket fences. To me, each of them seemed to scream individuality. Like the rose bushes beneath the windows of Number Four, or the swing set in Number Ten's garden, or the wooden bench and apple tree outside Number Twelve. They looked too far apart, too recognisable.

I was being paranoid. What did it matter if there were little kids who liked playing on swings living at Number Ten? So what if Number Four was fond of roses? What did any of that matter to me? The truth was, I was a city girl. I was born in London, I'd lived there for the most part of my childhood and when we had to run the first time, I'd naturally headed to a different city, somewhere I could merge into the crowd. First it had been Manchester, then Glasgow, and Edinburgh, and now . . . Wrickenridge. A tiny town that sat outside Denver in the state of Colorado. Just looking at all the space around me made me feel exposed, like I was screaming out loud for everyone to hear.

For him to hear.

Alex might not have been as paranoid as I was, but I knew he'd hate it here just as much. What trouble could he find here? There were hardly likely to be any gangs of hardened criminals lurking around each corner, which is exactly why we were here in the first place. After all, Alex couldn't mix with the wrong sort if they didn't exist here. Back in the cities, I was forever trying to keep out of his way, keep my head down and deny all knowledge when the police came calling. Until I got a call saying he was in trouble, of course, then it was my job to swallow my fear and rush after him before someone killed him. Luckily, he was usually smart enough to stay away from other Savants. Unfortunately, he still attracted enough attention for our past to finally catch up with us.

Now, we'd been exiled from the United Kingdom, and the only family we had left – a grandmother battling terminal cancer – had begged us not to come back under any circumstances. It had broken my heart to leave her alone. Just thinking about her stirred a piercing pain in my chest and my eyes burned with unfamiliar, hot tears. How could we have been so selfish? How could Alex?

But I didn't ask. For all his flaws, Alex never once abandoned family, not completely. I knew that somewhere along his rocky past he'd managed to collect a few favours from very select, unsavoury characters. No one would be bothering our grandmother, and he'd fight to the bitter end to keep me safe if he had to. He'd even protect Cassandra with everything he had, and the two of them hated each other.

Finally, the car drew to a halt outside a cottage that sat half-way down the street on the right hand side. Just like the others, it was white-washed with a dark oak front door and window frames and black iron fastenings. In the small front garden, small, delicate flowerbeds lined the sides and circular stones were lined into a path to the front door. Alex scoffed in disgust at the sight, but he said nothing.

Cassandra cut the ignition and clamped the steering wheel beneath her hands, her shoulders tense. "Most of your things are already inside," she told us sharply, and a spike of irritation made my jaw lock. "Take whatever you brought with you and-"

Neither of us waited for her to finish. Shoving the doors open, Alex and I climbed out and slammed the doors shut again, cutting off Cassandra's rant before she could even start. I could see her scowling and muttering darkly to herself, but I didn't care. As far as I was concerned, she was the woman our grandmother had hired to care for us, an over-paid baby-sitter I'd long since grown out of needing.

"Are you even going to look at me?" Alex frowned quietly as I threw my bag over my shoulder and started up the path.

"Why wouldn't I?" I managed to reply without looking up.

He scoffed sourly, his shoulders sagging wryly. "I know you blame me for us being here."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because I blame myself." I flicked my eyes toward him quickly and noticed he was completely serious, but dropped my gaze again and pushed the front door open without a word.

The house wasn't nearly as impressive as the one we'd stayed in with Gran. Since she and Granddad had been a little more than pretty well off, the house had been huge and we never went without anything. When we'd found ourselves in more trouble, Gran had barely blinked before giving Cassandra enough money to buy this place and the small stables that sat outside the town.

"A source of steady income," she'd answered when I asked her why she'd bought the stables, but I knew she was lying. Gran had hated being anywhere near horses since Mum had died, but I loved it. Being there reminded me of all the lessons she used to give me as a kid. While I was riding, I wasn't scared, or paranoid, or in danger. I was happy, and I knew that was the only reason she'd ever have even consider buying a stable.

Of course, even if it had been Gran that had bought it all, Cassandra strolled straight in like she owned the place. She was tall and skinny, with thin lips, a constant scowl and curled bleach blonde hair. How Gran had ended up relying on her at all was a mystery to me. Not only was she generally a horrible person, but she wasn't even a Savant. Don't get me wrong, I had no problem with regular people. In fact, more often than not I envied them. But if something went wrong, she'd just be another person for Alex and me to protect, and we had a hard enough time protecting ourselves.

"One of you is going to have to run out for some food from a takeout," Cassandra barked as she stepped through to the kitchen, and I followed her out of the hallway that ran across the left hand side of the house with a frown. She had her back to me as she adjusted her hair in the mirror sat on the windowsill, but I could see her distant, uninterested expression reflected back over her shoulder.

"I take it you're too busy?" I commented sarcastically.

She whirled around to glower at me quickly. "You're living under my roof and you'll do as I tell you," she snapped.

"Technically," Alex's wince came over my shoulder. "This is actually our house. Or our legal guardian's house, at least. You're just being paid to babysit."

"Then you're under my care," she retorted simply.

"And I feel very cared for," he replied, his voice dripping in more sarcasm. "How about you, Gracie?"

I didn't bother correcting my name, and despite everything that had recently come between my brother and I, I couldn't help straightening a little beside him, united at least for a moment or two. "I might go as far as to say pampered," I sighed exaggeratedly.

"That's enough!" Cassandra scowled as Alex snorted in amusement beside me. "Grace, go and unpack the car. Alex, you can find a take-out."

"Oh, thank you, your Majesty," he murmured under his breath, shooting me a dark look and turning back around to study the living room. Cassandra's face was growing red in anger, but I knew that despite the fact she was almost double our age, there was only so far she'd push us. She knew better than most that getting on the wrong side of troubled Savant children was severely risky business.

Still, I didn't like the thought of Alex wandering around the small town alone. He had a habit of finding trouble incredibly quickly, as though he was a magnet pulling it toward him. Having been here in Wrickenridge for all of half an hour, the thought of him ruining our new set up this soon did not sound entirely appealing to me. "Maybe I should find the take-out," I suggested with a small frown. Behind me, Cassandra mumbled something under her breath, but I wasn't paying enough attention to hear any of it. Instead, my eyes were fixed on Alex, who had immediately cottoned on to my train of thought and shot an exasperated look in my direction before peering out of the window.

"I've got to be allowed out sooner or later," he pointed out quickly.

"Oh, I know," I assured him sourly. "It worries me to think how dangerous you can actually make going to school. But at least then you're never that far away and if something goes wrong, I'll be one of the first people to know. Wandering around the town aimlessly, however . . ."

Alex scoffed, smirking slightly. "Maybe I could ask her?"

Eyebrows tightening, I moved forward to see the girl he was looking at and felt a groan slip through my lips wryly. Stood on the other side of the road, a tall, slim teenager with thick blonde curls was plugged in to her iPod earphones, scowling at her phone's screen with a dim, vacant expression. Honestly, she looked like most of Alex's ex-girlfriends – clingy and needy with an IQ that matched her shoe-sizes. Since his fourteenth birthday, Alex had had just about every girl's attention without the slightest effort. Standing at over six foot with broad shoulder and a lean body, very few people argued with him either. His blonde hair was chopped short at the sides and spiked up messily at the top, and his rebellious facial features often earned him a bad reputation before he'd even opened his mouth.

"Honestly," I sighed with a roll of my eyes. "Why don't you just hit her over the head with your shovel and drag her back to your cave?"

"I think that's illegal these days," he replied simply.

I frowned. "Just go and get the food. Without getting distracted, please?"

Stepping away from the window, he gasped dramatically and clamped a hand over his heart. "My baby sister just said please!" he smiled. My jaw locked irritably. "Miracles do happen!" I had to purse my lips together tightly to stop myself snapping back at him as he chuckled to himself, collecting the money Cassandra was waving through the air and letting himself out of the car with a deliberate wink.

"A miracle would be if I wasn't an only child by the end of the month," I muttered after him darkly, ignoring Cassandra's half-veiled, mumbled insults from the kitchen and heading out to unpack the car.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to retrieve what little Alex and I had managed to bring with us. And when Alex showed up half an hour later, food in hand without a single scratch on him, I almost felt lucky for a split second. Make the most of it now, Grace, I sighed to myself mentally. Because come tomorrow, all that goes out of the window.

At the time, I had no idea just how quickly things were going to take a turn for the worst.

That night, I couldn't shut everything out long enough to get a decent night's sleep. Instead, my mind whirled and kept me staring at the ceiling until well after midnight, rehearsing ridiculous scenarios in my head to showcase just how many things could go wrong. When I finally did get to sleep, little noises outside like the sound of a dog barking, or a car door slamming made my eyes snap open and my muscles tighten anxiously. None of this made sense to me. I'd been raised in the city. Noiseless nights weren't possible, and I'd slept through much worse than a barking dog before now.

Putting it down to my ever- growing paranoia, I rooted through my luggage – still unpacked – until I found my iPod, plugging the earphones into my ears and scrolling through the artist names until I found something I thought might be soothing enough to sleep to.

By the time my alarm sounded for school the next morning, I'd had what might have totalled as two hours sleep, maximum.

"Christ, what happened to you?" Alex snorted wryly as I slumped into the stool at the breakfast bar the next morning. Shooting him a withering look, I propped my chin up on the palm of my hand and frowned, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the smell of burning bacon. "You alright, Gracie?"

I lifted my eyes to my twin brother carefully. He was stood on the opposite side of the bar, a tight frown settled over his brilliant green eyes. Looking at him now, it was hard to imagine he could cause so much trouble. He was stood in worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt, a spatula in hand and bacon burning on the cooker behind him. For the first time ever, he was cooking breakfast, and I had a funny feeling it wouldn't be edible when he'd finished.

"Fine," I finally answered in monotone. "Just tired."

"Are you sure?" From the look on his face, he was obviously sure something was bothering me. He was right, of course, but there was nothing he could do about it. This entire town bothered me.

"I'm sure," I replied with a small shrug.

After eating as much of the bacon as I could – which was now so crispy it actually hurt my teeth to bite into – I stood up and left Alex to eat the rest of it, with a half-hearted thank you in his direction on my way out.

The tiny cottage house we now lived in wasn't much to look at. Downstairs, everything was open-plan, with the kitchen at the back of the house and the living area at the front. The stairs stood to the right hand side of the house, and at the top, there were four doors leading to relatively small rooms. My bedroom was just big enough for a small double bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a TV stand which held a fifteen inch TV screen and a small iPod docking station beside a large stack of CDs ranging from Bring Me the Horizon to Kelly Clarkson.

I had to push myself to get ready for school, shoving the question of whether or not it was worth it to the back of my mind. Though I didn't often agree with Cassandra, I knew she was right to enrol us at the high school. It was the best way to fit in with the rest of the crowd, even if it did mean meeting more people. I wasn't the most sociable of people, and other than Cassandra and Alex, I had next to no social skills. It wasn't that I didn't know how I was supposed to act, it was that I didn't want to. The more people I got close to, the harder it would be to leave, and that wasn't something I was going to put up with a second time.

Rummaging through my wardrobe, I pulled out a pair of battered and pale skinny jeans and a soft, black sleeveless blouse. For a long time, I scowled at my own reflection in the mirror, feeling the familiar irritation that I couldn't just be a normal teenage kid. No running, no distant expression and half-veiled insults to keep people at arms-length, and certainly no Savant stuff.

Being a Savant meant I could do things normal people couldn't. I had no idea how it worked, or why some of us were born with this ability and others weren't. All I knew is that I would gladly give it all up for a chance at a peaceful life. Telekinesis and telepathy might have seemed cool when I was three, but it had long since grown old.

Of course, that wasn't all I could do. Each Savant had an individual ability, something that separated them from most others. Sure, you'd occasionally find two Savants who could do the same thing, but the likelihood you'd ever meet them was slim. Take me, for instance. Along with the standard Savant stuff, I could turn time back roughly ten seconds. Or at least, that was the simple way to explain it. Technically, it wasn't turning time back at all, but that's what it would feel like for the person I was using it on. Really, all I was doing was slowing down their perception of time and turning back their individual actions, giving me enough time to manipulate what would happen when I let go. It had come in handy on numerous occasions, particularly when I was being shot at.

Still, it wasn't something I showed off very often. Using it wore me out too much, especially when the subject was at a distance. Plus, the concentration it took was easily broken if I wasn't careful, and if I let go too soon, the subject generally got annoyed.

Alex was a different matter altogether. While my ability gave me the chance to slip away quietly, his was much more confrontational. Though he couldn't control it for long, his ability gave him control of other Savant's abilities. If the Savant was weak or inexperienced enough, he could literally break in and use their ability in any way he wanted. Most of the time though, all he could manage was randomly setting it off, distracting them long enough for him to attack. Sometimes, I wondered if the abrupt, aggressive nature of his ability was why he was so unstable on occasion. But then, he was always much more obsessed with the soulfinder business than I was.

Soulfinders were another reason I wasn't particularly thrilled at being a Savant. Being a Savant meant that you were born as one-half of a whole, and that somewhere out there, someone else who was born with days of you had the other half. Most of the time, it meant that you spent your life never feeling complete, and wondering where and who your soulfinder was. On the odd occasion a Savant actually met their soulfinder, I'm told it creates an immediate link, one that you couldn't ignore, and as I've already mentioned, I wasn't a big fan of people.

Alex told me time and time again that it would be different if I was ever actually fortunate enough to meet the boy unlucky enough to be my other half, but I was never sure. To me, a soulfinder was a weakness, someone that would naturally have to be protected from my past, and we were struggling to protect ourselves. As far as I was concerned, the boy, whoever he was, was much better off without me, and I'd told Alex as much on more than one occasion.

What I hadn't told me was that every time I said it aloud, it felt like someone had driven a knife through my chest. And I knew what that felt like. I had the scars to prove it.

"Hey Gracie!" Alex's shout came, pulling me out of my thoughts with a small jump. "Cassie's waiting to take us to school. You ready yet?"

"Just a minute!" I called back, hurriedly shoving my dark red hair into a messy bun and yanking a tatty pair of black combat boots on. Snatching up my school bag and my favourite leather jacket, I slipped back out of my room and rushed downstairs and out of the door.

Cassandra was waiting by the Ford Kuga she'd bought in Denver a few weeks before we'd arrived, her arms folded and her eyebrows tight. "Finally," she groaned at me as I locked the front door behind me and jogged down the garden path. "You do realise I have a business to run, don't you?"

"You know, I'd forgotten," Alex sighed sarcastically, but she was already climbing back into the car, ignoring him entirely. Shooting me an irritated look, he pulled himself into the passenger seat, leaving me to climb into the back.

"The two of you had better be good this year," she lectured, before she'd even managed to pull the car away from the front of the house. I could see Alex tensing in his place, but I didn't say anything, moulding my expression into the same uninterested look I always wore. "Your grandmother has told me all about your little adventures back in Edinburgh."

"Little adventures?" Alex repeated in disgust. "We aren't children, Cass."

"If you want to be treated as adults, act like it," she retorted coolly, and his jaw locked tight. Fortunately, Alex had the sense to turn the radio on and ignore Cassandra for the rest of the drive. He'd naturally picked the rock channel, which I didn't mind. Being on the run with nothing but him and his iPod to listen to had limited my choices, and there was only so many times a girl could listen to a lecture on how to stay safe.

Luckily, Wrickenridge High School sat less than fifteen minutes away from our house by car. Compared to the American high schools you see on TV shows, it was quite small, and the number of students hanging around outside was far less intimidating. It looked like most of them were starting to head into the building for their first lesson, though a few of them were still hanging back, either rushing to finish a conversation with their friends or ignoring the school day entirely.

"Now, behave," Cassandra snapped at the two of us and Alex's eyes flashed. "That means you, young man. I won't put up with the same rubbish your grandmother took from you."

"Cassandra, you're a paid babysitter," I found myself snapping at her before Alex could do something stupid. "You're as stuck with us as we are with you." She glowered at me in the rear-view mirror, but I barely noticed, pushing the door open and climbing out of the car. Alex followed suit, scowling through the windows at her as he slammed the door shut behind her.

"She's really asking for it that one," he snarled through his teeth.

"No she isn't, calm down," was my immediate response, shooting him a warning look.

"She's talking to us like we're kids!" he complained, shouldering his bag irritably.

"And we'll sort it without resorting to your incredibly subtle methods of violence," I replied sourly. He clamped his mouth shut, obviously not trusting himself to continue the conversation.

All over the car park, students were milling around trying to find excuses not to go to their lessons. Apart from one group, of course, who all seemed to wear identical sneers. There were five guys, all of them dressed in varying shades of black and gathered around an impressive car and a motorbike. I'd met guys like that before, the ones that screamed trouble the moment you set eyes on them. Lucky me, I was even related to one, which usually meant he attracted more. It wouldn't have surprised me if I found them all raiding our kitchen in the next few days.

Today though, my usual attempt to ignore them and keep out of trouble failed. As if drawn by magnets I couldn't see, my eyes automatically drifted to the boy leaning on the saddle of his bike, his arms folded and his eyes shielded by a pair of expensive looking sunglasses. He wore worn jeans and a black, baggy t-shirt beneath a black biker jacket, and despite the fact his clothes weren't remotely tight, I could still see rippling muscles under his shirt, even at this distance. For some reason, the thought made my mouth run a little dry, and I snapped my gaze away from him quickly, a small frown settling over my eyes.

What was wrong with me? I never ever get involved with more people like that. They were much more trouble than they were worth, and having been roped in by Alex's friends before, I was speaking from experience. Shaking my head, I forced myself to keep my eyes on the school doors and block out the biker entirely.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Alex said quietly, hanging back a few steps. I knew he shouldn't be left to his own devices, especially not near those guys, but I didn't trust myself to look in their direction again.

"Just be careful," I murmured back, feigning completely disinterest. "And absolutely no Savant stuff? Okay?"

He held his hand out in surrender, smirking at me. "I've already promised that a thousand times, Gracie."

"Well forgive me, but I've heard it all before."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, sis," he scoffed, shaking his head at me. I shrugged a shoulder dismissively, turning and heading for the building. My eyes slid too far to the left, and I caught the biker staring in our direction, lifting his finger lazily to push his sunglasses out of his way for a second. I couldn't see what colour his eyes were from here, but my stomach squirmed awkwardly when I realised they were locked on me.

Suddenly noticing I was staring, I snapped my eyes away, gulping hard as panic started to swell in my chest. As good as I might have been acting calm and disinterested, they didn't exactly come naturally to me. Still, I didn't understand what it was about that boy that unsettled me so much, and yet . . .

I had to blink a few more times than necessary to stop myself looking back at him, striding past the other students and shouldering the office door open with a few deep breaths before I could freak myself out anymore.

The front reception was sickly welcoming. The lights were shining brightly overhead, and a friendly looking receptionist was sat behind her desk, with tight black curls falling around her shoulders and shining hazel eyes. At the sound of the door opening, she glanced up at me and smiled, oblivious to the less than impressed look on my face.

"Good morning," she greeted politely. "Can I help you?"

My eyes flicking over the rest of the empty reception, I stepped closer to the desk with pursed lips. "I'm just starting here today," I told her in a measured tone, the closest I could actually get to any form of enthusiasm for my new school.

"Oh, well welcome to Wrickenridge High School," she smiled at me, and I refrained from gagging with a tight grimace. "You must be Grace Peterson." Chewing the inside of my cheek, I nodded at her. Technically, Peterson wasn't my last name, but she didn't need to know that. Rummaging through the large stacks of paperwork on her desk, she finally found a few with my name written across the top in capital letters. "Here we are. There's your timetable and a map of the school. If you wait here a moment, as soon as your brother arrives I'll show you to your first lessons. Do you known how long he'll be?"

I shot her a withering look before I could help it, jerking my head to the window where I could see Alex laughing loudly with the biker and his friends. "He's making friends," I told her sourly.

"Oh," she replied, for the first time without a smile. "That's . . . nice." I didn't answer.

Eventually, Alex decided to grace us with his presence. The rest of his new friends left in the opposite direction, either to go to their first lessons or more likely to find something more interesting to do until lunch. The biker mumbled something at him as they left, his eyes hovering in my direction for a moment, but Alex just smirked and pushed the door open, slipping inside with his usual arrogant, self-assured composure.

"Oh, come on, Gracie!" he chuckled when I scowled at him. "I was only talking to them! It's not like we're plotting to mug little old ladies on their way back from bingo!"

"I couldn't care less what you're plotting," I frowned back. "Just keep them away from the house. Cassandra will have a heart attack."

"And since when did you care what Cassandra thought?" he scoffed, smiling brightly at the receptionist who was determined not to flush bright red. She failed. Miserably.

"Since we've had to put up with her every day," I replied easily.

Alex sighed, taking the papers the receptionist handed him without looking at them. "Relax, Grace. I'll be good, I promise." I didn't believe him, but I didn't push it. The more I complained, the more annoyed he'd get and the more likely he'd be to step out of line again.

So I kept my mouth shut, watching the receptionist step around her desk uncertainly and lead the way to our first classes. Alex was taken to his American History lesson first, where unbelievably, he immediately had the attention of a tall, lanky blonde girl wearing far too much makeup and far too few clothes.

Fortunately, I was in a different class altogether. After starting an advanced Chemistry class at my sixth form college back in the UK, I'd been put into the higher class here, where most if not all of the students were at least a year older than me.

"Mr Masey?" the receptionist called, pushing the door open for me and leading me through like a five year old child. The teacher – an elderly gentleman with a bald patch, a thick cardigan and rounded glasses – glanced in my direction and lifted his eyebrows. "This is Grace Peterson. She's just started here today."

"Ah, Miss Peterson," he repeated unnecessarily. "I was told to expect you here today. Please, come in and take a seat beside Mr Benedict there at the back."

Nodding mutely, I stepped around the desks, ignoring the students staring at me and took the only free space by the Benedict boy. He was tall, with the sort of chiselled, model look about his facial features and ink black hair. A stylish pair of square glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, hiding his curious gaze as he watched me slump into the chair.

"Hey," he started, almost smiling, as if he couldn't be sure whether he should be being nice. I got that a lot. Most people took one look at my expression and decided being nice was more trouble than it was worth. "I'm Yves Benedict." He held his hand out for me to shake and I held back a wry sigh.

"Grace Peterson," I told him in monotone, taking his hand reluctantly. A few of the girls around us were already starting to scowl, and I found myself holding back a smile. Despite the fact I had little to no interest in Yves, it was nice to know they still thought enough of me to view me as a threat.

"You're English," he blinked.

"That's usually what you call a girl from England."

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile. "I just didn't expect to see an English girl in Wrickenridge. What brings you here?"

The question made my mouth run dry. No one else here decided my nationality made me suspicious, so why would he? Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to take an advanced placement class. He was obviously too intelligent for his own good. "Cassandra, the woman who looks after us, likes it here. She owns the stables on the outskirts of town."

It was a flimsy excuse, and if he ever met Cassandra, he'd know I was lying. She hated it here, even more than I did.

"My family run the ski-slopes," he told me, and I found myself glancing at the teacher, Mr Masey. Was he ever going to start the lesson and get this guy to shut up? "So which part of England are you from?"

My eyes were back on Yves, my fingertips drumming anxiously on my thigh under the desk. "Manchester," I lied.

"That's up north, right?" he frowned curiously.

"Yes."

"Don't they have different accents in the north?"

"Sure," I shrugged. "Depends which city you're from. I moved around a lot as a kid, so my accent isn't really strong."

He hesitated, like he wasn't sure whether or not to believe me. Taking a breath, he leaned forward a fraction and my eyes narrowed. But before he could say anything, Mr Masey pushed himself up from his desk and clapped his hands together loudly to start the lesson.

Unfortunately, the task he had planned for the lesson involved working with a partner, and of course, I was stuck with Yves. Several of the other girls in the class had immediately volunteered to take my place, but Mr Masey was adamant.

"If anyone can catch Miss Peterson here up on the work we've been doing it's Mr Benedict," he said. Obviously, Yves was his favourite student, which likely meant I'd be stuck with him for the rest of the year. Great.

"Can I be honest with you?" Yves asked suddenly, breaking almost forty minutes of complete silence. The rest of the class had been talking animatedly around us, but the quiet relaxed me, and Yves seemed to be concentrating so hard it would have felt almost rude to interrupt.

"Is my only other option for you to lie to me?" I questioned blandly without looking up from my task.

He laughed casually. "I suppose."

"Okay then."

"You're different from the other students here."

I risked a glance in his direction. "I'm English," I pointed out dryly. "Sorry if that's putting you off."

"No, you misunderstand me," he insisted, shaking his head. "It has nothing to do with you being English. I mean . . ." He trailed off, obviously trying to determine whether I knew what he was talking about or not. I did, of course. He meant that I was a Savant, or at least, that's what my paranoia warned me. But there was no way he could possibly know that I was a Savant unless . . .

My thoughts broke off when something sharp seemed to stab through my mind, and I gasped in surprise, immediately shutting it down and imagining the most impenetrable wall I could think of.

But it was too late. Beside me, Yves's eyes had gone wide and a flicker of a grin spread across his lips. "You're a Savant," he breathed quietly, ignoring the students who'd turned to look in our direction.

I composed myself quickly, fighting to keep my breath steady as my heart pounded. "A what?"

Yves barely blinked. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"On the contrary, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Snorting under his breath, Yves grabbed my wrist in a vice-like clamp, and my eyes flicked toward him in a mixture of anger and panic. "You're a Savant, Grace, and I want to know why you're here."


	3. Chapter 2: Grace

"Let go," I warned him under my breath.

"Are you admitting I'm right?" he replied calmly, his hand still locked around my wrist.

"If you don't let go of me, I'll prove you right, now let go of me."

Yves scanned my expression, then slowly released my wrist and leant back, shifting his chair a little closer to mine. If any of the other students or Mr Masey had noticed our conversation had suddenly become a lot more dangerous, none of them showed it. There was still a girl with messy, almost fluorescent ginger hair on the other side of the room glowering at me, but that was probably because Yves was now sat close enough that his arm was pressed into my side in warning.

"So," he started. "What is an English Savant doing in Wrickenridge?"

"Attending high school last I checked," I muttered back sourly, flicking my eyes toward the clock. I was torn between wanting this lesson to be over immediately, or wanting to stay here a little longer. The thought of having this conversation made my stomach turn, but if I walked out of here and Yves told anyone . . .

"How old are you?" he suddenly asked me.

I cast a glance in his direction, snorting darkly. "Too young for you."

"I know that," he dismissed with a shrug, but his cheeks flushed slightly. "But my younger brother, Zed-"

"Stop," I interrupted with a wince, my chest tightening. "Please, stop."

Yves cut off immediately, staring at me in a mixture of confusion and pity. I knew he was just trying to figure out if I was a threat to him or his family, but if he tried matching me off with his little brother, they'd end up in more danger than they could have ever imagined. I refused point blank to let anyone else get involved in this, soulfinder or not.

"Why are you here?" he asked quietly after a moments silence.

I shifted awkwardly. "It's complicated."

"I'm fairly intelligent," he told me confidently. "I think I can keep up."

"I'm not denying you could," I frowned at him. "But I don't owe you an explanation." He looked like he wanted to argue, but he pursed his lips together tightly. I chewed the inside of my cheek thoughtfully for a moment. "I just want a peaceful life, okay?"

"And you couldn't get that in England?" he guessed.

I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "Yes actually I could, but I thought I'd much prefer explaining myself to a total stranger in some one-horse town in Colorado."

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise, staring at me in silence for a minute. "You definitely need to meet Zed."

"No," I scowled. "Don't even think about it."

"What?" he gawped, stunned. Luckily, Mr Masey chose that moment to check our work, and he shook himself quickly, straightening out on the spot. The two of us waited somewhat impatiently for Mr Masey to walk away again, before Yves turned back to me with a tight frown. Though my muscles tensed irritably, I had to hand it to the guy, he was persistent. "When's your birthday?"

"None of your business."

"I can't believe this," he breathed, eyes wide. "What is wrong with you?"

"Several things," I replied dryly. "None of which can be solved by anyone other than a professional."

"Zed's going to go mad when I-"

"No!" I hissed quickly, spinning around so fast my hair momentarily obstructed my view. "You cannot tell him about me."

He scowled at me. "Why not? You might be the person he's been waiting for his whole life."

"You don't know that," I snapped back. "And besides, even if that were true . . ." I trailed off, gulping hard when a shiver ran down my spine.

For a moment, Yves just stared at me like I was insane. Then, mumbling a curse under his breath, he straightened out and nodded once, as if it hurt his head to move. "Fine, have it your way," he said. "I won't tell anyone, not even Zed, that you're a Savant. But you have to explain why, and it had better be good if you're asking me to keep my own brother away from a girl who could potentially save his life."

The look on Yves's face made it look like he wanted to throw up. I knew that no matter how good my story was, he was never going to keep this from his brother long term. Eventually, something would snap, and he'd have to tell him, because between a stranger and his brother, it was only natural that his loyalties lay with his brother.

You don't know that I have anything to do with your brother, I told him telepathically.

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. I know. That's the only reason I'm agreeing to this.

The last few minutes of the lesson past in complete silence again, but for the first time, I found myself wishing he'd say something. He must have hated me for putting him in this position, and while normally I managed to detach myself from everyone else's problems with relative ease, this was different. Not only did I hate myself for letting him get into this situation, including any lie I'd have to tell so that he'd keep his mouth shut, the thought that he could be right about his brother made me a little queasy. I'd always thought of having a soulfinder as an inconvenience, just someone else to worry about twenty-four seven. But the idea that he could be so close . . . I found myself wondering what he looked like, or what his voice would sound like.

Meet me outside the cafeteria at lunch, Yves instructed as the bell gave a shrill ring overhead. Grimacing at me tightly, he pushed himself to his feet and strode out of the room, ignoring anyone who tried to get his attention.

I was severely distracted for the rest of the morning, which didn't bode well for finding my lessons. When I finally turned up in my Spanish class, the teacher stood in front of me, scolding my tardiness in what I presumed was flawless Spanish. Her mood did not improve when she realised I hadn't understood a single word she'd said, nor did it help when I didn't appear the slightest bit bothered.

Her rant in Spanish over, she took a deep breath through her teeth and pulled herself to her full height, which was still a good few inches shorter than me. "Most students apologise for being late," she told me sternly.

I lifted an eyebrow casually. "In Spanish or English?"

A few of the students laughed quietly, before hastily turning their laughter into coughs when she glowered in their direction. "Take a seat, Miss Peterson," she instructed, snapping her fingers and waving me inside the classroom.

Sitting myself in a chair by the window, as close to the back as I could manage, I sank down low and kept my expression straight. I knew I should have apologised properly, but I'd been in a foul mood since I'd left Chemistry. I couldn't get Yves's stony expression out of my head, and my stomach still fluttered at the thought of my soulfinder. I told myself time and time again that it couldn't be him, and that even if it was, I shouldn't be bothered. I'd long since come to terms with the fact that girls like me were better off alone, for their own sakes as much as anyone else's.

"Hey," a girl behind me hissed, and I turned far enough to meet her gaze over my shoulder. "I'm Louisa," she told me, without a trace of a smile. "You alright? You look like you could kill someone."

"Anyone in particular?" I asked, avoiding the question entirely.

She wasn't fooled. "Just asking," she shrugged. "Some of the people here can be . . . let's say less than friendly. I know how you feel."

I refrained from snorting. "Oh?"

"I moved here last month," she replied simply.

"Miss Peterson!" Sighing heavily, I turned back to face the teacher. She looked so angry, I was surprised there wasn't steam coming from her ears. "You are not in my class to cause trouble! Now, since you don't seem to have any idea what I'm talking about, perhaps you'd like to discuss it after school in detention?"

"Not particularly," I answered honestly.

"Then it's a good job it was a rhetorical question!" she nearly shrieked. "Oh, and Miss Trent? You can join her."

Behind me, Louisa sighed. "Always a pleasure, Mrs Nickels."

Unfortunately, the end of Spanish signalled lunch hour, and I found myself rooted into my seat, scowling at the patterned knots in the wooden desk in front of me. What was the worst that could happen if I simply didn't turn up to meet Yves? For a moment, I let myself believe that it could just be as easy as ignoring the situation altogether, but then questions started to flood into my thoughts. If Yves was a Savant, then so were the rest of his family. He'd already admitted he had a brother here, and the two of them obviously had parents. Were there any other siblings? How close to the rest of the Savant community were they? I couldn't risk Yves going back to his parents, raising his concern with them, and letting the lot of them ask awkward questions. All it would take is one wrong person to hear them, and we'd all be in trouble.

I couldn't let that happen.

"You lost?" a voice came from behind me, and I lifted my gaze long enough to frown curiously at Louisa.

"How could I be lost? I haven't moved yet."

The corner of her lips tugged for a second. "I meant do you want me to show you the way to the cafeteria for lunch? I'll introduce you to some of the less irritating people here if you want."

I hesitated, but again shook the thought of running away as quickly as it had come. "Actually, I said I'd meet someone just outside there."

Louisa shrugged, shouldering her bag. "Then I'll just show you the way."

Was everyone this persistent in Wrickenridge, or did they all just presume everyone they met was a nice person? Pursing my lips, I nodded once and snatched my bag off the floor, following Louisa out of the Spanish classroom and into the busy hallway, where all the students seemed to be rushing to get to the cafeteria or outside.

"So," Louisa started with a sigh. "Who are you meeting?"

Glancing sideways at her, I figured there was no point in lying, especially if she was taking me there. "Yves Benedict."

"What?" she blurted, turning to look at me so fast she didn't see the burly senior walking straight at her. Scowling, I grabbed her arm and yanked her out of his path, pursing my lips tightly as she steadied herself again. "Yves Benedict?"

"Yes. You know him?"

"Not personally," she said, shaking herself roughly. "But everyone knows the Benedicts. The older brothers used to come here too, but there's only Yves and Zed here now."

Casting a quick look around the hallway, I risked grilling her for more information, trying to be as subtle as I could. "Older brothers?"

Something like a smile slipped over her mouth. "There's seven Benedict brothers," she told me, and my heart sank. "The youngest three still live at home in the house at the top of town, where their parents run the cable car, and the older ones are in Denver. Most of them have dead weird names, since their parents seemed to like the end of the alphabet. See, there's Trace, Uriel, Victor, Will, Xavier, Yves and Zed, and every single one is . . . how would the British say it? Handsome?"

I lifted an eyebrow. "Do all American's think the British are stuck in the nineteenth century?"

She scoffed with a small chuckle. "Sorry."

I shrugged the apology off, running through the names of the Benedicts in my head. None of them sounded familiar, but then I'd been out of the Savant loop for a long time. I only remembered a few names, and they were the ones I'd been trying to forget for years. "What do the older brothers do then?"

"Not sure," Louisa sighed. "You don't see them around here often these days. I think Trace is a cop or something, which is strange because everyone says he was always causing trouble when he was here."

That didn't surprise me. No matter how calm-minded you were, when you were a Savant and you started reaching this age, it was easy to lose sight of right and wrong. A lot of Savants put that down to it being the time when you start to question whether you'll ever meet your soulfinder, but I figured being old enough to realise life was entirely unfair didn't help matters either. On more than one occasion, I'd found myself sorely tempted to turn the clock back and make sure I got what I wanted. Up until now, I'd restrained myself, with a little difficulty, because I knew that if I let myself do it once, it would be the beginning of the end and I'd do it again.

"When did you meet Yves anyway?" Louisa questioned, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"I'm in his Chemistry class."

Her eyes widened a little. "Seriously?" I nodded at her, still distracted. "Wow, I'm impressed. You must be really good at it if they put you in his class already. Suppose it makes up for Spanish though, right?" There was a spark in her eyes that told me she thought she was being funny, so I just nodded in response as we finally rounded the last corner and came face to face with the cafeteria doors.

"There," Louisa said, nudging me and pointing through the crowd to where Yves was stood, reluctantly talking to two other guys about his age. "He doesn't look very happy."

"He's voluntarily spending his lunch hour with me," I sighed, trying to ease out the frown over my eyes. "I have that effect on people."

"That's cheerful," she snorted at me, rolling her eyes. "Good luck, Grace." Patting my arm once, she slipped into the cafeteria, leaving me alone in a crowded corridor.

Unwilling to let Yves anywhere near my mind again, I threw up as many barriers as I could and crossed the corridor to where he was stood with his friends. The moment he saw me, he cut his conversation dead and straightened out. "I'll catch up with you guys later," he told the others, stepping around them before they could argue and moving toward me. "And here was me thinking you'd bail on me," he grimaced quietly as he neared.

"I was tempted," I admitted.

"We need to talk," he insisted.

My lips pursed tightly, and I folded my arms over my chest. "Not here. Someone might hear."

Yves raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised, but nodded and dipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out a set of car keys. "Come on. I know somewhere we can talk."

He moved around me, already leading the way back down the corridor. "You expect me to get into a car with a Savant I don't know?" I questioned coolly, following him anyway.

"You're the one with something to hide," he pointed out.

"True. So why are you willing to be alone with a Savant you don't know?" He shot me a look I didn't quite understand, turning his face away from me without a word.

Students had been giving me strange looks all morning, just because I was the new kid with an English accent. Now though, they muttered and pointed in our direction, like being singled out by Yves Benedict was as shocking as claiming that I was from another planet. Still, I managed to ignore most of them, right up until we reached the car park, where my eyes immediately drifted to the group of troublemakers, now joined by my dear brother. Most of them were messing about and flirting with girls with long legs and made-up faces. Alex, however, was stood by the biker guy I'd seen earlier, both of them frowning and absorbed in a deep discussion.

"Get in," Yves instructed as he came to a halt by a reasonably expensive car. I didn't answer immediately, watching Alex's eyebrows tighten and the biker guy shift with a scowl. Seeing them like that didn't bode well, but right now, I had my own problems to deal with. "Grace?"

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I scowled at him, tearing my eyes away from Alex and yanking the car door open. On the opposite side of the car, Yves sighed heavily, mumbling to himself again as he got into the driver's seat. Eyeing my tense stance cautiously, he started the car and pulled it out of the parking space smoothly, his eyebrows tight. Risking a glance back in Alex's direction, I was relieved to notice that he was too caught up in his conversation with the biker to realise I was leaving. If he'd seen me, he would have killed me. Well, he'd have killed Yves. Then he'd have killed me.

Yves had only been driving nearly ten minutes when he pulled up outside a small café not far from my house. At quarter past twelve, it was fairly busy instead, with two waitress dressed in horrible, pale pink uniforms rushing around the counter with several plates of food and cups of coffee somehow crammed into their hands.

"This is your idea of a safe place to talk?" I questioned, lifting an eyebrow coolly.

He frowned. "No one in that café is the slightest bit interested in what we have to discuss. Besides, it looks a lot less suspicious talking in a public place."

"And why would looking suspicious bother you?"

He didn't answer, cutting the ignition and climbing out of the car gracefully. Biting down on the tip of my tongue before I could say something stupid, I followed his example, straightening out my jacket as Yves led the way into the café.

The only booth left empty was at the very back of the room, beside a very loud family of four. The parents appeared to be having a hard time getting the two small children to eat their food instead of throwing it at each other. Watching them, my nose wrinkled in disgust, but Yves smiled slightly, leading the way around them in a large arch to avoid being hit by stray baked beans.

Sitting myself opposite him with a straight back, I was hit by the sudden urge to run. Why had I agreed to come here anyway? What could I possibly say to him to convince him that he and his family were much better off if they kept their distance?

As if realising I was less than impressed by my current situation, Yves took the menu from the end of the table and slid it toward me. "You'd better eat," he instructed. "If it turns out you are who I think you could be, Zed'll kill me if I'm not careful."

I ignored the menu with a glower. "I have nothing to do with your family," I told him in a forceful tone. He didn't say anything, nudging the menu closer to me with a meaningful look. Scowling, I took it from him obediently.

It took a while for the waitress to make it to our table. She was roughly middle-aged, with greying hair and a rounded figure, and despite looking severely haggard, she put on her best smile the moment she noticed Yves. "Yves Benedict," she beamed affectionately. "I haven't seen you here in a while!"

He smiled sheepishly back at her. "I've been busy at school."

"You put far too much pressure on yourself, young man," she scolded gently, and I lifted an eyebrow when he flushed slightly. The waitress's eyes slid toward me, her smile growing a fraction. In the same second, I felt my face straighten. "And who is this young lady?"

Yves's smile faltered. "This is Grace," he told her. "She's . . . a family friend."

I managed a nod of acknowledgement in the waitress's direction, and her smile faltered. "So, have you kids decided what you want to eat?"

Yves placed his food order, shooting me another warning look and jerking his head toward the waitress when he'd done. I rolled my eyes. "Waffles, please," I told her.

The moment I'd spoken, her smile was back and her eyes were a little wider. "Oh, you're English!" she breathed, and I had to fight to keep the scowl off my face. Apparently, I didn't do a very good job because within seconds, Yves kicked out at me under the table, clearing his throat pointedly. Fortunately, the waitress hadn't noticed. "Will you be wanting tea with that?"

I couldn't tell if she was serious or not, but I shook my head. "Coffee is fine." She chuckled to herself, nodding and spinning around to take our order through to the kitchen.

"Are you this rude with everyone?" Yves scowled at me.

"Most of the time," I answered honestly, my face straight.

A sour laugh slipped his lips. "You really don't see it, do you?" he murmured, shaking his head in exasperation. I didn't ask what he meant. Quite frankly, I couldn't have cared less. All I wanted to achieve out of this was the knowledge that the Benedicts wouldn't be a problem for Alex and me.

"You brought me here for a reason," I reminded him coolly. "Get it over with."

He hesitated, scanning my expression like he wasn't sure if I was serious or not. "Fine. Why are you really here?"

I lifted an eyebrow. "Are you always this paranoid?"

"That didn't answer the question."

Sighing heavily, I took a deep breath and straightened in my chair, grasping the first lie I could think of that was remotely close to the truth. "Alex was getting in with the wrong crowd, so we were sent here."

He paused, obviously debating whether or not to believe me. Only I could be unfortunate enough to meet another Savant this smart and . . . the only word I could find was good. It was becoming rapidly clear that the Benedicts were good people. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised me if I learnt that they were part of the Savant Net. My brother and I, however, were not remotely close to that side of the Savant community. We were very much associated with the opposite end of the scale.

Before Yves could ask anything else, the waitress returned with our food and coffee, smiling widely between the two of us. Neither of us looked up as she set the plates down in front of us, and even she seemed to pick up on the tension remarkably quickly. Shooting us each one last uncertain smile, she turned and trotted away without a word.

The moment she was out of earshot, Yves leant over the table. "Who sent you?" he asked.

"Our grandmother." Technically, that wasn't a lie. If she hadn't have forcibly pushed me out of the house, I'd still be living with her. It sickened me to think I was sat here drinking coffee while she was dying alone in a city where she could be easily found by the people looking for Alex and me. Of course, I didn't tell Yves that. I was trying to calm the situation, not provoke him into getting me arrested.

"And she didn't come with you?" he guessed.

I didn't meet his gaze, sipping at the coffee I'd ordered. "Apparently not."

Groaning in frustration, he pushed his plate away so that he could lean further over the table. "Are you intentionally vague or does it just come naturally?"

"That depends who I'm talking to."

He scoffed, shaking his head in exasperation. "Unbelievable. You're being vague about being vague?" I didn't say anything, picking at the waffles in front of me with no real appetite. "Okay, let's try this. I understand that the likelihood that you are Zed's soulfinder is slim, but what I don't understand is why you don't even what to find out for sure."

There was silence for a minute while I tried to figure out how to reply. The problem was, I wasn't sure there was anything I could say to him to stop him telling his brother about me. Then again, the odds were in my favour. Even if he did, I very much doubted that Zed would ever have anything to do with me.

"I have a bad experience with soulfinders."

The words were out of my mouth before I fully realised I'd even started to talk, and the second I'd finished, I went rigid on the spot, staring at the waffles in front of me in shock. Why would I admit that? What possible reason was there for dragging my parents of all people into this?

Heart hammering, I took up my coffee again for something to distract me as Yves shifted opposite me, completely oblivious to the fact I should never have told him that. Honestly, I had no idea why I had. "How?" Yves asked me. "I've never heard of a bad situation with soulfinders before. My parents are soulfinders and they've been happy for years."

"You realise that just because your parents found each other doesn't mean you or your brothers will find your soulfinders?" I scowled at him, and his face straightened.

"Yes," he replied shortly. "I'm fully aware of how slim the chance is, especially since the only reason Dad found Mum was because he knew a soulseeker."

My scowl vanished. I'd heard of soulseekers before now, but I'd never really believed they existed. The thought that Savants could be born with an innate ability to find soulfinders, both their own and other peoples, seemed ridiculous to me. I could never decide if it sounded too good to be true, or like our own biology was playing a cruel practical joke on the rest of us that were most likely doomed to live our lives separated.

Yves's expression softened a fraction, but not much. Apparently, he hadn't liked the reminder that he was as doomed as I was. "How bad is bad?" he persisted.

Chest tightening, I glowered at him again and picked off another tiny bite of my waffles. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"The whole point of coming here was to talk, Grace," he pointed out sourly.

"Yes, and I'll answer the rest of your questions," I scowled. "But not that one."

"Okay, where are your parents?"

My stomach went hollow. Suddenly, it felt like the temperature around me had dropped ten degrees. "Not here," I said through gritted teeth.

"They were the soulfinders you were talking about then," Yves continued, and my muscles tightened, my fists clenching at the sides of my plate. His eyes darted down, scanning my stance in a mixture of concern and irritation. "Do you still see them?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"In a cemetery."

His face fell, and I took a grim satisfaction from watching him pale a few shades and shuffle anxiously, even if my statement had technically only been fifty per cent true. "I . . . I'm sorry, I shouldn't have . . ."

"No, you shouldn't," I agreed darkly, forcing my fists to unclench.

Still, when he eventually plucked up the courage to talk again, it was still about my parents. "They can't have died because they were soulfinders," he muttered.

I frowned across the table at him, now so distracted all I could do was push my food around it's plate. "Why not?"

"Soulfinders can't hurt each other."

"Yes, they can."

"No," Yves scowled, shaking his head. "That would be like hurting yourself, surely? Your soulfinder is almost literally the other half of you. It would be nearly physically impossible to hurt them."

"Nearly," I nodded quietly, dropping my gaze again.

Yves paused a moment. "I'm not sure I believe you," he told me carefully.

"Not my problem."

"But you think that all this means I'll keep Zed away from you?"

"No," I admitted, flicking my eyes up to meet his intensely. "Nothing I say can make you do that, can it?"

He shuffled slightly under the scrutiny, but didn't argue. "Zed's at breaking point," he told me softly. "He's the seventh kid, so he's stronger than the rest of us. It's like he can channel every aspect of our abilities, and that's a lot to take on top of all the premonitions he has."

I lifted an eyebrow, mildly intrigued. "He sees the future?"

"Some of it," Yves nodded with a small shrug. "He says most of it is just five minute dreams here or there, and he won't tell us much of it in case he changes things and makes it worse. He just gives us half-veiled warnings every now and then."

"Helpful," I shrugged, wondering for a moment how much easier my life would have been if I could see trouble before it happened.

"The fact is, he's breaking under the pressure," he insisted, leaning closer to lower his voice. "Dad won't say anything to him, but I know he's worried. So is Mum. In fact, all of us are. Do you know how many times we've called Trace to come and talk him down?"

I tried not to look as empathetic as I suddenly felt. I knew that feeling, all too well. I'd tried the same with Alex on several occasions, and when that didn't work, I'd found myself talking to him through cell bars.

"I can't help him," I warned Yves quietly, hoping he understood that it was the most honest thing I'd ever told anyone, let alone just him. Even if I was Zed's soulfinder and I was everything he'd been looking for, all I'd manage to do is bring more trouble into his life.

"You don't know that," he insisted. "Please, Grace, all I'm asking you to do is talk to him."

"But it isn't, is it?" I frowned. "You're asking me to potentially change his life, and knowing little to nothing about me, you have no idea how badly that could turn out. Yves, I'm not avoiding him to be cruel. Whatever you think about me, however I act, you have to believe that."

He fixed his gaze on mine, nodding once. "I do. But you have to understand that if Zed realises you're a Savant, I can't lie to him. I'm not even sure I'll be able to go home and stop myself from telling him you're here."

Sighing heavily, I drained the rest of my coffee and pushed myself to my feet. "Fine. Just be warned, Yves. Getting his hopes up about something like this isn't a good idea. In all likelihood, I'll just be another Savant girl to him, nothing more, and when he realises that, how badly do you think he'll break then?"

Without waiting for him to answer, I dropped the money to pay for my lunch on the counter and marched out of the café, hoping and praying that my little speech had sounded as convincing as it had felt.


	4. Chapter 3: Alex

Alex

"Didn't realise Wrickenridge was such an appealing place for an English Savant," Zed frowned.

I straightened, eyeing his expression cautiously. Though I forced myself to keep calm on the outside, I could feel my blood begin to boil beneath my skin. Grace always told me that panic was too mild for me, that I always skipped straight to anger instead of thinking things through like normal people. I supposed she was right. I'd never tell her, but she usually was.

But right now, even I was smart enough to know that picking a fight with an unstable Savant like Zed Benedict in the middle of a school car park was a bad idea. There were too many witnesses for one, and far too many things that could go wrong, the main one being that Grace would immediately try to break up a fight if she caught us, and I knew enough about Zed to know I didn't want her anywhere near him.

"What's me being English got to do with it?" I retorted coolly with a small shrug.

"We don't get many tourists here," he replied in monotone, his alert eyes fixed on me like he was waiting for me to slip up.

"We aren't tourists," I pointed out irritably. "That would mean we'd be going back to England sometime in the near future."

"Which you aren't doing?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" I snorted, a little louder than necessary. The other guys cast a glance in our direction, and one of them, a tall, lanky boy named Sean who looked to me more like he was playing dress up and trying to act the tough guy than actually pulling it off, scoffed in Zed's direction with one eyebrow raised.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw his sister," he promised with a small smirk.

I felt my fists tighten by my sides and Sean's expression faltered when I glowered at him. "You want to say that again?"

Sean paled slightly, but before he could say anything, Zed straightened with a frown. "I didn't know you had a sister. The redhead you were talking to this morning?"

I almost laughed sourly at his description. Maybe I didn't need to keep Grace away from him. If she ever heard him call her a redhead, she'd probably kill him herself. If there was one thing Grace hated more than anything else, it was labels, especially ones that made her sound like she'd dipped her head in a bucket of red paint.

"She's off limits," I frowned. "No one goes anywhere near her, got it?"

Zed hesitated, his eyes flicking sideways. "You'll probably want to update my brother on that."

I felt my muscles tense as I followed his gaze. He was watching Grace and a tall boy with glasses step out of the school building, both of them in deep conversation. Zed's brother was quite a bit taller than Grace, but that didn't stop her shooting him a scowl on occasion. Luckily, he seemed to have enough sense to back off, holding his hands out slightly at his sides. She still didn't look impressed, her delicate eyebrows pulled together in a tight frown.

I sometimes wondered if she realised how much trouble she attracted. I knew very well that she was aware of how much trouble I got into, but I'd never had the heart to tell her that more than half of that was because I was keeping her out of it. She was constantly the centre of some idiot's attention, as proved by Zed, his brother, and Sean. With her dark red hair, slim figure and shockingly electric blue eyes, all inherited from our mother, keeping her away from the likes of Zed was almost a full-time job.

By the looks of it though, I didn't need to worry about Zed's brother. In fact, I almost didn't believe they were related. Despite the fact she obviously didn't like the topic of conversation, Grace looked comfortable enough talking to him. "I'm not worried," I shrugged eventually.

Zed cast a quick, irritable glance toward Sean and the others, annoyed they were here to stop him confronting me properly. "She's a Savant too?" he asked quietly when he'd determined the others had lost interest again.

My scowl was back. "What's it to you?"

He shrugged, but the look on his face was clear enough. A Savant girl had started his school, in his year. In one sense, I didn't blame him for being curious, even if the chances of her being his soulfinder were slim. In another, he was still an arrogant jackass and the thought of him being anywhere near my sister made my jaw lock angrily.

Still . . . was it my place to get in the middle of them if he really was her soulfinder? It went against everything I wanted for her, but I forced myself to think about it for a moment. Grace had pretty much shut herself off to the outside world after the disaster on our ninth birthday, and I was the first to admit it wasn't healthy. What if she needed this as much as Zed did?

"Can't believe I'm doing this," I grumbled to myself. "Wait here." Zed shot me a curious look, but said nothing as I straightened out and strode across the car park, ignoring the giggling cheerleaders to the side.

Grace saw me coming. The conversation she'd been having with Zed's brother ended somewhat abruptly, and like every other time she'd ever sensed trouble, her hand latched around the handle of her bag, holding so tightly her knuckles went white. "Hi, Gracie," I managed to smile. "Making friends?"

My eyes flicked to Zed's brother, who regarded me in mild surprise. Grace pursed her lips. "Yves, this is my dear brother, Alex," she introduced sarcastically. "Alex, Yves Benedict. He's in my Chemistry class."

"Nice to meet you," Yves said, a little uncertainly, shaking my hand.

"Do you mind if I have a word with my dear little sister for a moment?" I asked him lightly.

"Err, sure," he nodded. "Are you still going to need a ride home, Grace?" I blinked at her in surprise, but she set her expression sternly.

"Yes, thank you. I'll just be a minute." Yves grimaced at her, stepping around the two of us and moving toward a car at the other end of the car park.

"Okay," I frowned at her. "What are you playing at? You know the Benedicts are Savants, right?"

A flicker of uncertainty ran across her face. "Yes. Yves told me. How do you know?" I hesitated, wondering whether or not to come clean about Zed, but before I could, she groaned loudly. "Oh God, Alex, please tell me you aren't on speaking terms with Zed Benedict?"

I almost laughed at her in shock. "You've heard about him?"

She rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh, jerking her head back toward Yves. "I haven't heard anything else," she complained. "The second Yves realised we were the same age, he wanted me to meet him. Apparently, he has the entire family worried he's close to breaking point which, in hindsight, probably means I should have guessed you'd be stupid enough to find him."

"How was I supposed to know there were Savants in Wrickenridge?" I scoffed at her. "Wasn't that part of Cassie's job description?"

"You can't be serious," she scolded irritably. "How is Cassandra supposed to know if someone is a Savant?"

"Mind reading?" I joked. Her face darkened, and I had to remind myself for the thousandth time that my sister had been born with an intolerance to humour. "So what are we supposed to do now then, Gracie? Move?"

She shifted, torn. I knew she must have hated the idea of living in walking distance of an entire family of Savants. We'd managed to separate ourselves from others remarkably well for a long time, mainly because they had a tendency to ask awkward questions and get us caught out. But we'd all gone to so much trouble setting up here, it would take ages to pack up and leave again, and we had the house and stables now.

"Let's look at it this way," I sighed, and she lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "We could play nice with the Benedicts and get on with our life, or freak out, start acting weirdly and making them suspicious, then spend the next few months to a year on the run again."

Grace shot me a withering look. "If only it was that simple."

"It isn't?" I frowned, puzzled.

"Not when Yves is determined to match me off with his little brother!" she hissed under her breath. "Do you realise how many times he's asked me to meet him?"

I shrugged. "So do it. Go over and talk to him."

She gawped at me. "You can't be serious."

"Gracie, the chances of you have anything to do with him are slim to none," I pointed out. "Maybe it's best to meet him and put their minds at rest. If you don't, it only looks more suspicious."

Her lips pursed thoughtfully for a moment, her eyes sliding sideways. "That's him, right? Leaning against the bike?"

I followed her sharp gaze to see Zed somewhat reluctantly talking to the head cheerleader, Sheena. From what I'd heard about her, she was a nasty piece of work, and had recently been determined to get her claws into Zed after he'd broken up with some cheerleader from out of town. By the looks of it, she wasn't doing too well.

"Yeah," I grimaced. "He isn't very talkative." Grace pulled a face, but something about her expression didn't sit right. She looked almost . . . nervous, and that wasn't something I often said about her. It usually took highly trained Savants with guns to worry her. "Erm, Gracie? You okay?"

She tore her eyes away from Zed and Sheena, frowning at me cautiously. "I get the odds are slim, Alex," she said, and there was something strange in her voice.

"Slim to none," I corrected.

She ignored me. "The odds are in our favour, but what happens if they aren't good enough? What happens if . . ."

I waited expectantly, but her gaze had become distant as it usually did when she was worrying about a future she couldn't see. "What happens if it turns out Zed's your soulfinder, you mean?" She nodded stiffly, and I sighed again. "Then that changes things, obviously. But we're talking about your soulfinder here, Gracie, someone who is literally your other half. How many of us ever get the chance to meet our soulfinders? Say it turns out that way. Would it really be that bad?"

"Yes," she scowled. "Alex, you know better than anyone else out there how bad that could go!"

I almost flinched, my muscles tightening abruptly to keep me in place. She was right, of course. Despite everything I'd told her, how I couldn't wait for the opportunity to meet my soulfinder, sometimes I wondered if Grace could be right. With our track record, our future didn't exactly look bright or risk free. Were either of us really selfish enough to drag our soulfinders into it all? With the odds of ever finding them against us, I'd never seriously considered it an option.

Grace sighed, running a hand through her hair with a small shrug. "I don't know, Alex, maybe I'm being paranoid. But I don't like the idea of dragging the Benedicts into our lives. However Zed appears, they're good people. They don't deserve the trouble we'd be bringing, and however good the odds are, they aren't good enough for me to agree to go anywhere near Zed. I can't risk it. More to the point, he can't risk it."

I scanned her expression, and for the first time I thought she might not have been entirely truthfully when she'd told me repeatedly that she never wanted to find her soulfinder. "Zed already knows you're here, Gracie. What if he decides to see for himself?"

I could tell she hadn't really ironed out all the details for her plan to avoid him. Since I'd been keeping her out of the lime light all of these years, she'd never really had to work at that part of her life. "Then I suppose we'd better cross our fingers and hope the odds are good enough," she muttered eventually. "Until then, I'm going home." Shooting one last strange look in Zed's direction – where Sheena was giggling flirtatiously at him – she turned on her heel and weaved her way through the other students, making her way toward Yves's car.

Great. So now I had to find a way to keep Zed Benedict from trying to find his soulfinder. Muttering about how it would have been so much easier if I'd had a twin brother, I made my way back to Zed and the other guys.

"Oh, hi, Alex," Sheena smiled with a sickly sweet tone. I nodded once. "Was that your girlfriend you were talking to?" Her nose wrinkled, almost in disgust.

Zed scowled at her. "She's his sister."

I tried not to let his strange over-protectiveness put me on edge, but I was slowly coming to the conclusion that I was missing something, and I had a funny feeling I knew what is was. Maybe Grace had been right to avoid him after all.

Grace's predicament with Zed Benedict got me wondering about my own soulfinder in the weeks that followed our first day. While my sister might have opted for the more self-sacrificing option of avoid her soulfinder for his own good, I didn't think I had the self-restraint, which irritated me. A lot. It was childish, but I'd always thought I was stronger than Grace was, but here she was purposefully hurting herself to keep someone else safe, while I couldn't even stand the thought of it.

"Alex!"

I shook myself awake roughly, blinking a few more times than necessary when Grace snapped her fingers in my face impatiently. She glowered. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Of course I was!" I defended with a frown. She lifted an eyebrow. "Would I lie to you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were developing a sense of humour, Gracie," I grinned at her.

She sighed exasperatedly. "Sarcasm and humour are two very different things, Alex, the former being essential for life under the same roof as you and Cassandra."

"Ouch, Gracie," I winced, clamping my hands over my chest dramatically. "You really know how to get under a guy's skin, don't you?"

"Could you focus for one minute?" she scowled at me. She was stood in the kitchen, throwing together a stew of some sort since Cassandra was working late at the stables after one of the horses had been taken ill. Spread out on the breakfast bar in front of me were several maps of Wrickenridge, Denver, Colorado, and the whole of North America. After three days of awkwardly navigating the school to avoid Zed, her paranoia seemed to have been cranked up to a whole new level.

"Gracie," I started cautiously, and the mere tone of my voice was enough for her jaw to lock irritably. "I know you're a little . . . delicate at the moment, but don't you think this is a bit much? You know it always works better if we decide these kinds of things last minute."

"You say that like we've ever had enough notice to prearrange anything," she snorted sourly. "I want to know there's somewhere else we can go if things go badly here. Preferably somewhere as far away from Denver as possible."

I clamped my mouth shut before I said something stupid. Between her paranoia at home and Zed's slipping grip on his anger issues, I knew it had to be taking a lot for the two of them to keep their distance. I wasn't sure what Grace had said to Yves to make him keep quiet, but even he had stopped trying to put the two of them in the same room.

Sensing the sudden awkwardness lingering in the atmosphere, Grace turned back to the stew, changing the subject with her back to me. "Do you know French?"

I snorted. "Is that a rhetorical question? Why'd you ask?"

"I was thinking Quebec next," she shrugged.

I pulled a face, hurriedly making sure it was straight again when she turned to scan through the recipe again. "Any particular reason?"

"It's a different country. Again. And I'm fairly certain we're limited to staying on this side of the Atlantic."

"I'd prefer Hawaii," I suggested with a small smirk.

She eyed my expression. "Um. And give you more of an excuse to do nothing, you mean?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Gracie."

Figuring it was the best way to keep her happy, at least for that evening, I indulged Grace's paranoia while we ate, but when she quickly retired to her room afterward and started playing Bring Me the Horizon a little louder than necessary, I knew it would take a lot more than a few escape routes to keep her calm.

That night was the first night I saw the girl's face. I couldn't be sure of what was actually happening at the time; all I knew was that I'd never experienced a dream like this one before, and it unsettled me. Something felt . . . real. Too real. As though I was stood watching the world play out it's cruel tricks and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

The girl can't have been any older than me. She was slim and petite, definitely no taller than five and a half foot. Her waist length black hair had been hurriedly braided back down her spine, and her crystal grey eyes shone in fear as she staggered down a street, surrounded by bright lights that all seemed to merge together around her. Her tanned skin was covered in severe cuts and bruises, like she'd been held captive and tortured until she'd blacked out.

She kept stumbling down the street, lost in the sea of lights and people, not one of which slowed down to help her. Someone yelled angrily behind her, and she gasped in panic, forcing herself to move faster until she was running through the crowds, turning corner after corner until she was sure no one was following her.

Staggering into a walk, she took short, ragged breaths, tears streaming silently down her cheeks as she clamped her hand to her side, where her white vest top was stained a dull, thick red. She kept casting uncertain glances over her shoulder, but despite her obvious pain, she kept going until she'd found an abandoned street, deserted and dimly lit.

The girl hesitated on the corner, trembling as she stared into the darkness. Closing her eyes and muttering something to herself, she took a deep breath and forced herself to move forward. Without a seconds hesitation, she hurried to the first car she saw and grabbed the handle. As if the car had been left entirely unlocked, she yanked the door open and jumped into the driver's seat. The moment her hands touched the steering wheel, the car sprang into life and she sighed, a relieved sob escaping her lips.

Just as she'd started to relax, a gunshot rang through the air and the windscreen in front of her exploded.

"ALEX!"

I yelped in surprise, bolting upright with a hammering heart and short, sharp breaths. My eyes were wide and painful, my body quivering in shock. At the end of my bed, Grace stared at me in concern. She was still fully dressed, her eyes red and sore like she'd been trying to keep herself up. In her hands, she clutched a steaming cup of coffee.

"Alex?" she repeated, this time much more cautiously. I didn't answer immediately, staring at my sister as though she should've already been explaining what was wrong with me. Instead, she sat waiting anxiously for me to get myself together.

Closing my eyes with a tight scowl, I lifted my hand to my forehead, where a dull pain was beginning to grow behind my eyes. "W-What time is it?" I croaked, my voice hoarse.

Grace shifted. "Two o'clock."

"In the morning?" I groaned, risking opening one eye. She nodded once. "What are you still doing up?"

A flinch ran across her face, but she shrugged a shoulder. "Not really very tired," she lied. "Besides, I very much doubt I'd get much sleep anyway with the noise you've been making. It's taken me ten minutes to wake you up."

I stared. Ten minutes? The dream didn't feel like it had taken that long. Thinking about it, it was the first dream I'd ever had – other than a recurring childhood nightmare – that I'd been able to remember in its entirety when I woke up.

Grace pursed her lips, setting her coffee down on the bedside table next to me. "Wait here a moment." Frowning at me, she pushed herself to her feet and swept out of the room, hurrying down the stairs faster than I thought possible. Within a few minutes, she was back, carrying a tall glass of freezing cold water. "Drink," she instructed.

"Aww," I managed to smirk weakly. "I never knew you cared so much."

She pulled a face. "You need to calm down," she muttered, taking up her coffee and sipping it cautiously as she sat back down opposite me. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I swallowed a gulp of water with some difficulty, wondering if I should come clean. After all, it was just a dream. What could possibly be wrong with a dream? Maybe her paranoia was beginning to get contagious. But then I thought about the girl, and the look of absolute terror on her face.

"Alex?" Grace questioned. "Say something. You're worrying me."

I met my sister's gaze. "It . . . it's just a dream."

She straightened a fraction, lifting an eyebrow. "The same one you used to get?"

I almost laughed. "No, Gracie, I think I've out grown nightmares."

"Oh yes, because you're ever so mature these days," she mumbled with a frown. "Besides, I think we can safely class this as a nightmare. I've never heard you so nervous before."

"This dream was . . . different," I admitted to her with a wince, and her face straightened instantly, suddenly serious. "I don't know, I can't explain it. It's never happened to me before."

Grace hesitated, scanning my expression closely. "What did you see?"

Taking a split second to thank whatever God was listening for possibly the only twin sister who didn't immediately make fun of her brother after waking him from a nightmare, I took a deep breath and recited my dream for her, feeling strangely concerned that she was just as worried about this as I was.

"And you think this was real?" she questioned cautiously after I'd done.

I shuffled on the spot. "I don't know. I . . . I think it could be. But how could that be possible? Last I checked, I didn't have the ability to have visions of somewhere that could be halfway around the world while I slept."

Her eyebrows tightened in thought. "No," she agreed. "But you have been known to borrow other Savants abilities without knowing it before."

I stared at her, realisation slowly sinking in as she frowned at me. "You're saying you think I've hijacked one of the Benedicts' powers? Aren't they too far away from that?"

Uncomfortable thinking about the Benedicts, she angled herself away and sipped her coffee again, shrugging one shoulder. "We've never really figured out how far away you can take another Savants ability, or if prolonged exposure to one Savant can have a lasting effect."

I figured that was her subtle way of blaming Zed. "But I've never had this with your ability."

She glowered at me. "Yes you have. Remember that incident in Aberdeen three years ago? You drifted off and ended up reliving the past ten seconds over and over again until I finally managed to wake you up."

I grimaced. "That was an accident."

"You were like that for an hour, Alex."

"And I had a pounding headache for my trouble, can we move past it please?"

She rolled her eyes at me, sighing heavily. "The point is, you haven't had an adverse effects from my ability because I make sure to block that part of my mind away as much as possible. The only other Savants the Benedicts are used to worrying about are each other. In a tiny town like Wrickenridge, I doubt they're as vigilant with that sort of thing. It's perfectly plausible that you're just experiencing one of their abilities like . . . like a contamination effect."

I snorted with a small smirk. "Are you saying they're contagious?"

"Grow up," she glowered. "You asked a question, I gave you an answer. Maybe I'm wrong." She hesitated a moment, frowning. "Zed sees the future." There was silence for a minute or two, and I was almost too stunned to ask how she knew that. Fortunately, I didn't have to. "Yves told me," she sighed, shrugging again. "Some sob story about how he has to deal with premonitions of the future as well as the effects of the rest of them since he's the seventh kid."

"And you're doing an excellent job of sympathising for the guy, sis," I scoffed sarcastically.

She shot me a dark look. "He doesn't need my sympathy, Alex. Just talk to him. Since you're around him most days, maybe that's what's causing it. It might all make more sense after you've spoken with him."

I nodded at her slowly. "Maybe," I agreed.

Without another word, she pushed herself off the end of the bed and slipped back out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. I thought I could hear the TV still going in the background downstairs. Obviously, I wasn't the only one having a hard time getting to sleep. But for once, the girl in my dreams seemed somehow more important than our trivial dramas. Grace might not be able to sleep while she over thought her current situation, but at least she wasn't black and blue.

Whether the Benedicts were causing these dreams or not, the more I thought about it, the more real the girl became. I had to find a way to help her, before she got herself killed. But, without any idea of where she was or even who she was, it was hard to find a good place to start.


	5. Chapter 4: Alex

The thought of the girl was slowly eating away at my sanity. We'd been at Wrickenridge High School for two weeks now, and already, we'd upset the balance of things. It wasn't unusual to hear mine or even Grace's name being muttered in the halls. No one could understand why Yves Benedict, a straight-A overachiever on the straight and narrow, had taken such an interest in a girl like Grace. From what I could tell, the only subjects she bothered with were Chemistry and English Literature, and the rest were just there to make up the hours in the days. She didn't socialise, she didn't smile, and she wasn't a particularly pleasant person to most people.

But what seemed to be bothering most people was the dynamic between me and Zed. Since finding out my sister was his age, Zed had been becoming more and more unstable, spending more time out of school alone and less time talking to the people normal crowding around him for his attention. The cheerleaders especially were not best pleased. It didn't help matters that since my dream about the unknown girl in trouble, I'd been edgy, short-tempered and incredibly impatient. No matter how hard I tried to make sense of it all, nothing worked.

By the time we reached our third weekend, I thought I could feel myself start to implode with the pressure.

"Are you still sulking about that girl?" Cassandra sighed irritably when she finally made it home from work that Friday night.

"Well, you'd know all about sulking," I muttered dark at her, flicking impatiently through the channels on the TV. Grace was curled into the armchair beside me, her Chemistry textbooks propped open on one arm of the chair and a Charles Dickens book resting open on her lap. I wasn't sure if she was trying to multi-task, or if she was just showing off, but I didn't care enough to ask.

"The two of you need to get a grip," Cassandra told us both, holding her head a little higher as though she was the standard we should be aiming for. Grace lifted her gaze long enough to shot her a withering look, but quickly lost interest and returned her attention to her books. "There's a charity dance being held in Denver next month. Darwin says that almost everyone will be there."

I scoffed, scowling at her. "Darwin? Who the hell is Darwin?"

"Don't be childish," she snapped at me irritably. "Darwin is the man I was telling you about last week."

"And you think I remember that?"

She ignored me. "He runs an executive company on the other side of Denver. We've been out for a few drinks, not that either of you two would notice. Too wrapped up in your own petty little dramas to bother noticing anyone else."

"Petty?" Grace glowered, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Don't raise to the bait, Gracie," I sighed, repeating something she'd told me a thousand times or more. Her jaw locked as she met my gaze coolly. "It'll only make things worse."

"Something you'd know a great deal about," she scowled back. "Have you not spoken to Zed about that dream yet?"

"Oh, we're back to that," Cassandra groaned. "Why do I bother trying to have a mature conversation in this house?"

"We weren't sure you'd be able to keep up, Cassie!" I called after her as she stalked out of the front room and up the stairs.

"Alex!" Grace snapped. "Focus! Zed and the dream. Why haven't you spoken to him yet? I thought you said you would."

I stared at her, scanning her perfectly serious expression with a little difficulty. "It's hard to take that kind of advice from you, Gracie. After all, we are talking about the guy you can't stand to be within twenty yards of."

She shifted awkwardly in her seat, and I felt a pang of regret for that particular comment. I knew she'd been having a difficult time keeping herself focused. Despite everything she'd ever told me, I knew she wanted to find out if Zed really was her soulfinder more than anyone, probably even more than Zed himself. But she was too good for that, too selfless to drag him into our mess. And now here I was having a go at her for it because I couldn't figure out what one dream meant.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I shouldn't have-"

"Forget it," she instructed hurriedly, pulling a face as she dropped her eyes back to her text books. "But I do still think you should talk to him. He might not be able to tell you much, but if it is a premonition you had, then he'll know better than anyone how to deal with it. Besides, even if you can't do anything about the dream, then you could at least ask him to protect his own mind a little more and stop this thing happening again. In fact, if you don't tell him, I'll tell Yves."

"What?" I blurted. "Why?"

She shot me a cool look. "Because the last thing we need is you to accidentally tap into another one of their abilities and start causing havoc with that. I mean it, Alex. Speak to him, before I do it for you."

Though I was fairly confident that she wouldn't actually mention the dream to Yves and was just using that as leverage to get me to do something about it, I resolved to finding a quiet moment to speak to Zed about the girl in my dream. Whatever I thought about him and his current situation with Grace, she was right. He was my best bet at helping the girl before she got hurt.

Unfortunately, that plan went out the window the very next day. Saturday night saw me stood outside on the porch of Sheena the cheerleader's house, unable to remember how exactly I'd been roped into coming to her birthday party in the first place. The backdoor had been thrown open, and the thumping music could be heard from halfway down the street. Most of the other kids were still crammed inside, moving awkwardly to the sound of some pop-punk band I'd never heard of before. The only other people out here were either too busy making out in the darker corners of the garden to notice me, or vomiting violently into the bushes after a sneaking the poorly concealed bottles of vodka out of the cupboards in the kitchen.

"Hey, Alex!" a cheerful, giggly voice came from the doorway, and I looked up to see a blonde cheerleader beaming at me. "Are you coming back inside or what?"

I couldn't remember the girl's name, but for some reason, she was irritating me. "Actually, I'm heading out," I frowned. "I'll see you at school."

"Aww, come on!" she complained loudly as I pushed myself upright, starting for the exit. "You've only been here a few hours!" It had actually only been two, but I wasn't going to correct her. Despite my best attempt at ignoring her, the cheerleader scurried forward and latched her hands around my wrist, smiling at me as she tried to drag me back toward the house. "Just one more hour," she pleaded, batting her eyelashes at me. "Then you can take me home."

Unable to think of a good enough excuse to get out of it, I let the girl led me back into the house with a wry sigh. She beamed. "You get some drinks, I'll go and change the music. I hate this band, don't you?" I shrugged at her, but she didn't care. Spinning around, she weaved her way through the mass of people until she'd disappeared from view entirely.

Taking a deep breath, I shoved my way back toward the kitchen, trying to force the image of the girl from my dreams out of my mind. What are you doing, Alex? a small voice at the back of my mind kept asking me. She's hurt and alone, and you're out partying with some ditzy cheerleader?

I shook the thoughts out of my head with a locked jaw, shoving the kitchen door open irritably. Unfortunately, the first sight my eyes met was of Zed and Sheena. "Oh, come on, Zed!" Sheena was pleading. "One more dance? It is my birthday."

I barely noticed the annoyed look on Zed's face, snorting sourly at the two of them. "You two look very cosy," I glowered, and Zed's eyes flashed.

"What's it to you?" Sheena sneered back at me. "I thought you were with Lucy?"

Was that the blonde girl's name? Didn't matter anyway. "No, I was just leaving," I scowled back. "Since I seem to be interrupting."

She looked ready to snap at me again, but Zed straightened out, glaring at me dangerously. "You're not interrupting," he grumbled. "Sheena was just getting a drink."

The cheerleader was not impressed. "I thought we were going to dance?"

"Find someone else," he instructed coolly, without even bothering to look at her. She huffed indignantly, spinning on her heel and stomping out of the room.

I snorted darkly, holding my hands out. "Don't let me get in your way, mate," I shrugged. "It's not like you've been after my sister for the past three weeks or anything."

An expression I couldn't figure out clouded his features, and his fists tightened angrily at his sides. "You weren't interrupting anything," he repeated through his teeth. "And your sister hasn't even looked at me in weeks."

"Ouch," I winced dramatically. "The one girl you want is the one girl who want give you the time of day. I'd feel sorry for you, if the others weren't all over you the moment Grace's back was turned."

The anger was starting to get the better of him. I could see it in his eyes. But I'd been bottling everything up for too long, trying to figure out a puzzle that had no right answer and I was sick of it all. Knowing Zed was so close to breaking, to reaching over here to hit me in the face, caused adrenaline to rush through my veins. I needed a release, a way of venting my frustration, and it looked like Zed had drawn the short straw.

"Get out of my face, Alex," he warned quietly.

"You know I almost convinced her to talk to you," I snarled at him, my anger pounding in my ears furiously. "Guess it's a good job she has more common sense than I do."

"I said stop!" he snapped at me, now literally shaking in anger.

"Or what?" I spat. "Grace is right to stay away from you. She deserves better than some arrogant, American jackass who thinks he can get away with anything because he wears a leather jacket and rides a motorbike."

I'd barely finished talking when Zed's fist collided with the side of my face. Pain immediately exploded from the point of contact, radiating across my skull and down my neck, disorientating me for a second as I staggered back a few steps. Before I could even think about hitting him back, he landed another punch, straight into my gut.

Somewhere, some girl screamed. Adrenaline was still coursing through my body, and my anger seemed to have clouded my vision almost entirely. Vaguely aware that people were scrambling to separate the two of us as blood started to trickle down my face, I managed to throw a punch straight into Zed's nose and a well-aimed kick to his stomach before two sets of arms latched around me tightly and dragged me away from him.

"Christ, Alex!" Sean cursed as he and another guy I didn't recognise dragged me backward. Two guys I thought might've been called Michael and Ryan had hold of Zed, struggling to keep his arms behind his back as he fought against their hold.

"Get him out of here!" one of the older teenagers snapped at Sean, pointing an excusing finger at me. "Take him outside and calm him down. And Zed, get a hold of yourself! Some idiot called the police, so unless you want your big brother to show up dragging you out of here kicking and screaming, I suggest you relax. Quickly."

They weren't kidding about the police. At the mention of the word, most of the other kids disappeared as quickly as they could, and Sean ended up dragging me through to a small dining room that sat opposite the front room, shutting the door behind him. He didn't look at all pleased that he'd been the one left in charge of making sure I didn't do a runner, but I wasn't about to push my luck. Though my anger wasn't for fading, I was starting to seriously reconsider my actions. Zed hadn't deserved that, and I was more than a little positive that Grace would kill me if she ever heard half of what I was accusing him of. Forget the fact that she was trying desperately to have nothing to do with him, but if it turned out he was her soulfinder, neither of them were going to thank me for this later.

And still, despite everything, it was the girl in my dreams I felt worse for. Here I was provoking a guy into a fight and getting into trouble with the police while she really was in trouble and needed help. I'd been aggravating myself with the questions about her for weeks now: who was she and why was she in trouble? Why of all the people in the world had I seen her? And finally, I'd found someone who could help me find the answers. Unfortunately, I'd just punched him in the face.

The police arrived about fifteen minutes later. Since neither of us were badly injured, I was pretty sure they weren't going to do anything about the situation, and frankly the officers looked more bored than anything else. Still, they said something about informing our parents to pick us up from the station and slapped handcuffs around our wrists, piling the two of us into the back of the police car.

Zed still looked furious. I didn't blame him. I'd been way out of line, but I wasn't calm enough to admit that to him yet. I could barely look at him. There was a cut across his lip that was bleeding slightly, and there was an awkwardness to the way he moved after that kick to the stomach. All in all though, he didn't look too worse for wear, which was more than I could say for myself when Grace got wind of this.

Three weeks in Wrickenridge, and I'd already been arrested once. She was going to kill me.


	6. Chapter 5: Grace

_Grace_

"You're kidding me," I stared.

Beside me, Yves laughed lightly. "You know, I had a feeling you weren't the comedy movie kind of girl."

The others laughed at him, but I shot him a cool look and rolled my eyes. For the past few weeks at school, I'd spent most of my free time with Yves, his two friends Owen and Niall, Louisa from my Spanish class, and her friend Sara. Most of the time, I kept quiet and let them do their own thing, especially since socialising wasn't really my strong point. I wasn't even sure Owen, Niall and Sara wanted anything to do with me. But Louisa wasn't for budging, and Yves seemed to have decided that if Zed couldn't keep an eye on me, he'd do it for him.

Between Yves and Louisa, they'd managed to drag me out of house and to the movies in Aspen, where I'd inexplicably sat through two and a half hours of what was supposedly a comedy movie. Not once did I ever even crack a smile, let alone laugh.

"I cannot believe you didn't find that funny," Sara sighed at me, glancing back as she walked ahead between Owen and Niall. She was a small girl with blonde curls cut around her jaw line, and glistening green eyes, dressed in jeans, thick boots and a pink parka jacket. On one side of her, Owen, a tall, burly football player with a shaved head, smirked back at me with a small wink, while Niall, a reasonably lanky boy with a bad case of freckles and burning red hair, was too busy trying to find a way to pluck up the courage to speak to Louisa.

"It wasn't bad," Louisa grimaced. "But maybe we should find something _really_ funny next time. Something she has to laugh at."

"I'm not sure that exists," Yves smiled at me, receiving a glower in return.

"I bet your one of those girls that can sit through those seriously freaky horror movies without batting an eye, aren't you?" Owen asked me.

"I don't watch much TV," I frowned at him. All five of them stared in surprise, but I just shrugged. "I prefer books."

"No wonder she's top of the class in English Lit," Sara sighed, mildly irritated. "Ms McLennan is probably the only teacher in the whole school that thinks she's a saint."

"Everyone has to be good at something," Niall pointed out wisely. I forced myself to keep my face straight. Normally, the only thing I was ever good at was getting myself into near-death situations. I was an expert at those these days.

"So who's up for a pizza?" Louisa called a little louder, obviously bored of our last topic.

"I'm in," Niall nodded immediately, and Owen and Sara hurried followed his example.

"Sounds good," Yves agreed with a light sigh. "How about you, Grace?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but my phone suddenly gave a shrill buzz from my pocket. Frowning as I pulled it out, I almost groaned when I saw Cassandra's caller ID. "I'm probably going to have to give that a miss," I warned Louisa, answering the call irritably. "Cassandra. If this is another call about-"

I cut off when she sniffed loudly over the line, my entire body going rigid on the spot half way down the street. The other's hesitated a few steps ahead of me, watching me curiously. "Cassandra," I repeated slowly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, and I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was trying to keep strong.

"Then why call?" I scowled, turning away from the others and taking a small step away. "Answer the question. What's going on? Where's Alex?"

"Oh, give it a rest, Grace!" Cassandra suddenly snapped over the other end of the phone. "Not everything is about the two of you!"

Behind me, everyone had gone deadly silent. I hesitated, frowning at the other end of the street. I'd never really had Cassandra down as the sort of woman that bothered to talk about her own emotions before, and that had been fine by me. It was the way I worked, and if she was comfortable with that too, it just made it easier to live with her. But now, she seemed . . . worried. And she'd chosen me of all people to turn to.

I pursed my lips, unable to stop myself shuffling awkwardly. "Where are you, Cassandra?"

She huffed, sniffing again. "The . . . hospital."

A chill ran down my spine. "Why?" I scowled in a rush. "Are you alright?"

There was a moments silence, in which both me and Cassandra seemed to register our surprise that I was even remotely concerned for my severely reluctant babysitter. "Yes," she sighed. "Yes, Grace, I'm fine. There was just a . . . small accident on the way home. But Darwin, he's . . ."

My lips pursed. "Keep me up to date. I'll be there as soon as I can." Without waiting for her to question it, I hung up and took a deep breath before turning back to face Yves and the others.

"Everything okay, Grace?" Owen frowned at me cautiously.

"Not really," I admitted with a small shrug. "Cassandra was in some sort of accident, I have to get to the hospital."

Yves immediately straightened out. "I'll drive you if you want," he offered, moving forward before I'd even opened my mouth to reply. "Since I brought you here anyway."

I pulled a face, unwilling to spend even more time in his company. I did not want to think about what would happen if Zed were to find out that I was at a hospital. But since I didn't have a driving license yet – something I was seriously beginning to consider as one large flaw in my plan to stay over here – he was pretty much the only one who could take me.

"Okay," I sighed, nodding once. "If you don't mind."

"I hope everything's okay," Sara called as Yves and I spun around to move in the opposite direction back to the car. "Pass on my best!"

The car ride back was awkward, to say the least. Yves looked like he wanted to say something, but after one look in my direction, he decided against it and turned the radio on. I couldn't help wondering what had gotten into everyone lately. Cassandra was turning to me for comfort, I'd spent night after night shaking Alex awake out of a nightmare about a girl he'd never met, and I had what most people would class as friends, something I'd avoided at all costs before now. Maybe it was this town and being so close to everyone in it. It was making us all . . . _normal_.

It took us awhile to get to the hospital, and by that point, I was starting to get a disturbed feeling, something eerily familiar. I remembered feeling that way before, and every single time it was because Alex was in trouble.

"Yves?" I started cautiously as I climbed out of the car.

"Um?"

I paused, gritting my teeth and taking a deep breath before I could change my mind. "Do you know if Alex is with Zed at that party tonight?"

He blinked in surprise. Admittedly, it had been the first time I'd managed to say Zed's name out loud in almost two weeks. "I . . . I'm not sure," he said, clearing his throat and leading the way to the hospital doors. "Why'd you ask?"

I shrugged. "Just a feeling I have." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, it happens every now and then. Maybe because we spend so much time together, but . . ." I shook myself, scowling at the doors ahead of me. "I don't know. But I don't like it." Yves said nothing, obviously confused.

It took us awhile to talk the nurses into letting us see Cassandra and Darwin, something that wasn't helped when I couldn't even tell them what Darwin's surname was. Luckily, it turned out Yves wasn't as oblivious or as useless as I had first thought, and when it became incredibly apparent that the nurse, despite being at least twice his age, was quite taken with him, he managed to turn on the charm enough to get us through to them.

Cassandra was hovering outside Darwin's hospital room, staring through the window with wide, red eyes. She was dressed in a slinky black dress and heels, and there was a large blazer thrown over her shoulders. A bruise was beginning to rise on one of her cheeks, and there were stitched up scratches across her forehead.

"Cassandra," I called, and she started, spinning to face us.

"Grace," she sighed, shifting on the spot and wrapping her arms around herself. "You came."

I tried not to look too uncomfortable, but from the look on Yves's face, I failed miserably. "I said I would," I shrugged at her vaguely. "What happened?"

She gulped, shivering and glancing back through the window to see Darwin. He was a little older than she was, with dark brown hair, and strong, rebellious face and a broad frame. At the moment, he looked like he was unconscious, a drip running from one of his arms. "We were in the car on the way home," she told me in a soft voice, her eyes shining and distant. "He'd just pulled up at a set of lights, and the idiot behind us didn't slow down. Darwin . . . Darwin knocked his head pretty hard."

I flicked my gaze back to Darwin, my eyebrows pulling together. I'd never seen Cassandra so upset before, and it unsettled me. Just being near her was enough to make me slightly nauseous. Still, I couldn't leave her alone like this. So, instead of going home like I'd initially wanted to, I reluctantly found a nearby chair and sank into it.

"You don't need to stay," I told Yves, after he'd been to grab a couple of cups of coffee.

"And miss you actually caring about someone?" he scoffed with a slight smile, handing me one of the coffees and leaning back in his seat. I scowled. "Besides, you . . . well, you looked pretty freaked out for a moment back at the movie theatre."

I averted my gaze quickly and took a cautious sip of the hot coffee. "Cassandra told me she was in the hospital," I pointed out sourly. "Surely that's enough to cause concern?"

He opened his mouth to reply, then seemed to think better of it and grimaced at me instead. I knew he didn't believe me, which was only right for a boy as intelligent as him, especially since I'd been lying to him almost consistently since the day we met. But, despite all of my flaws and his, I was quite glad Yves was here, even if it was only because Zed made him keep an eye on me. If nothing else, he and the rest of his family were a reminder that it was possible for Savants to be good people, a reminder I found I needed more and more as the weeks past.

We'd been hovering around the hospital for almost an hour before the nurses decided that Cassandra needed to go home and relax, which wasn't something she was planning to go along with. Yves and I had to sit and listen to her arguing with at least three different nurses over the course of half an hour, which must have been some sort of record. The way Cassandra was going, I was surprised they hadn't called security yet.

It was while we were watching this ordeal in mild amusement that Yves got the call. As his phone started ringing, he sighed heavily and leant back, answering it with a yawn. "Hello? . . . Oh hey, I sent you a text a while back . . . Um? Where are you? . . . Why? . . . You're kidding me . . . oh no . . . Yeah, she is why? . . . Oh, Christ . . . Erm, I'll check, but I'll be there soon."

The moment he hung up, I knew something was wrong. Breathing deeply, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and stood up, drawing himself to his full height and shifting anxiously a few times before turning to face me with an unreadable expression.

"We have a small problem," he said with a small frown. "Zed was just arrested."

I felt my body go rigid on the spot, like all my muscles were locking into place all at once. Suddenly my skin shivered in a non-existent breeze, and my heart clenched uncomfortably. But Yves wasn't done.

"He got into a fight, Grace," he told me softly, fixing me with a stern gaze. "Alex was arrested too."

My body moved of its own accord. Heart hammering in my ears, I leapt to my feet with a furious glower, my blood burning in my veins. My mind whirled too fast to make out any of my iritic thoughts, but the overall message was clear; I had to make sure Zed was alright.

"Cassandra!" I snapped, pushing the nurses out of the way and taking Cassandra by the arms, forcing her to look at me. "Listen to me carefully-"

"Erm, excuse me!" the nurse beside me shrilled, scowling at me indignantly.

"I wasn't talking to you," I glowered at her quickly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a conversation to finish, and I'm sure there are other patients in need of your excellent care." The nurse stared at me.

"Grace," Yves's concerned voice came.

I ignored him, shifting on the spot in my impatience. "Look at me, Cassandra, and listen carefully. You're to go back into Darwin's room and stay with him. Do _not_ leave the hospital until I get back. Don't talk to anyone you don't know, don't wander off on your own, and if something happens, you call me, understand? No one else."

She stared at me, like she was trying to seem angry, but her eyes flickered with something close to recognition. Slowly, she nodded. "Okay."

Without waiting for anything else, I spun around and marched past the nurse, blocking out the sound of Yves's continuous apologises as he hurried to follow me. I was only mildly aware that my hands were shaking, my fingers twitching. Shivers rushed over my skin, through my nerves and down my spine, my breath shearing the inside of my throat. Not entirely sure what was happening to me, I forced myself to keep moving. If I had an answer, if I knew what was going on, then I'd be able to figure out how to fix it.

Or at least, that was the plan.

"Dare I even ask what that was all about?" Yves scowled at me as we stepped outside.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I answered simply, my eyes fixed on the car ahead of me.

"With Cassandra," he persisted. "Why get so paranoid?" I didn't answer, hauling myself into the passenger seat with pursed lips. Sighing heavily, Yves pulled himself into the driver's seat, shooting me a strange look as he started the car again.

Sitting still didn't help me much. I kept shifting on the spot in my impatience, drumming my fingertips against my thighs and biting my tongue to stop myself snapping at Yves to drive faster. What I was planning to do when I got there, I wasn't entirely sure. I wasn't even sure the police would let me see Alex without Cassandra present. All I knew was that I needed to talk to him in private. What on Earth was he thinking, getting into a fight with Zed? My whole life, I'd only ever asked my brother for one favour; keep Zed away from me, and out of trouble. That was it. It wasn't difficult, Yves had been doing the same thing for me for just as long. Now, I was on my way to bail him out of trouble, again, for attacking the boy I'd almost begged him to look out for. If he even tried to justify this . . .

"So does this happen a lot in your family?" Yves frowned sideways at me. "Trips to the hospital and prison within an hour of each other?"

I pursed my lips. "More often than you think." He wasn't reassured.

The small town police station wasn't far away from the hospital, which I was immensely grateful for. I wasn't sure I could sit still for much longer. The lights shining from inside cut through the darkness, showing a half empty car park and a few stray drunks stumbling out of the front entrance. Mumbling to himself, Yves parked the car as close to the doors as he could, running a hand through his hair anxiously as he cut the ignition.

I didn't stick around to listen to him lecture me before I faced Alex and Zed. Just being here made my stomach twist nervously, but I shoved the door open and started toward the front entrance, hoping and praying that I didn't run into Zed first.

Inside, the only other people were a couple, presumably Zed's parents. The sight of them stood there, oblivious to my presence, didn't do me any good. Both of them looked incredibly concerned, huddled together in a murmured conversation. Zed's father looked fairly tall and strong, with work worn hands and a relatively neutral expression. His wife, on the other hand, was small and petite, with dark hair and large eyes that shone with so much emotion it was enough to send me dizzy.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

I turned, gulping hard as I met the receptionist's gaze. He was a tall, board man with a stern look, and I couldn't help wondering if he was trying to figure out if I'd done anything wrong. Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I took a ragged breath and stepped closer. "I'm looking for Alex Peterson," I told him in a quiet voice.

He eyed me cautiously. "Are you a relative?"

"I'm his twin sister," I nodded. "Cassandra, the woman who takes care of us, is at the hospital at the moment."

He hesitated, then dropped his gaze. "Well Miss Peterson, your brother isn't under arrest," he told me dryly, and I felt my shoulders sag in relief, a fraction of my panic fading again.

"Can I ask what actually happened, Officer?"

"We got a call about a fight kicking off at a house party about an hour ago," he told me, drawing himself to his full height at the title _Officer._ Obviously, he wasn't used to hearing it from kids my age. "Your brother and Mr Benedict are incredibly lucky that some of the other kids there stepped in to pull them apart before it became anything more serious. Now, since neither of them are seriously injured or looking to press charges, they've been let off with a warning. _This_ time. If it happens again, I can't promise they'll get off that easily."

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself commenting, nodding at him and dropping my gaze to the counter. None of this told me _why_ they were fighting. It didn't make any sense. Mistaking my confusion for fear, the officer behind the desk sighed heavily and grimaced at me. "Your brother should be out in a minute, Miss Peterson," he told me gently. "If you take a seat, it shouldn't take long."

I nodded again. "Thank you."

Without looking at the Benedicts, now accompanied by a wry looking Yves, I sank into the nearest chair and returned all my effort into not having a breakdown in public. My hands were still shaking, now so violently I had to sit on them to keep them still. I was starting to feel nauseous, the sort of sickly feeling you get when you know something bad is about to happen and you have no idea how to stop it.

The doors at the far end of the entrance opened, and a different officer escorted Zed Benedict into the entrance. My chest clenched and my fingers tightened around the edges of my seat, but he didn't look half as bad as I'd been imagining. There was a pretty bad cut across his bottom lip, and he wasn't holding himself with his usual arrogance. And still, the idea that it had been caused in a fight between him and my brother didn't help matters.

He caught me staring, a small frown slipping over his eyebrows. Swallowing, I adverted my gaze quickly, trying to ignore the way I suddenly didn't seem able to catch my breath. Annoyed, Zed shook the officer's hand off his shoulder and strode straight out of the room, without so much as a glance in his parents direction.

"Zed," his mother started wryly, taking a step forward, but the officer interrupted her.

"Mr and Mrs Benedict, do you mind if I have a word with you before you leave please?" The Benedicts didn't look pleased, but agreed all the same. Yves kept staring after his brother, like he was torn between hearing what the officer had to say and making sure Zed wasn't getting into any more trouble. Unfortunately, he apparently decided to stay.

I chewed my bottom lip anxiously, something I hadn't done since I was about seven years old. My impatience was beginning to get the better of me. I _needed _to know what was happening. What if Alex's name was being passed through the system right now? What if someone recognised him? I was probably being paranoid again, but things like this didn't normally help me think straight.

Glancing between the officers surrounding me, no one seemed to be in a hurry to go and find Alex, and the Benedicts were too absorbed in their conversation to be of any help whatsoever. So, ignoring the warning that told me I'd regret it later, I slipped out of my chair and through the doors again, welcoming the sudden rush of cold air that seemed to bring me back to my senses slightly.

A little too late.

"Shouldn't you be avoiding me?" Zed's irritable tone came, and my head snapped sideways. He was leaning against the outside of the building, scowling over eyes that appeared to hover between brilliant green and a deep blue. I'd never noticed before, but now that I had, I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"You were arrested," I pointed out sourly, amazed I could even find my voice. "For fighting with my brother, and Cassandra is a little busy at the hospital. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave an awful lot of room to make my own decisions."

His anger wavered for a second, scanning my expression reluctantly. "Is she alright? Cassandra, I mean. She's the woman that looks after you, right?"

"Yes," I replied, slightly unnerved by his interest in my life's little dramas. "And she's fine."

Zed nodded once, turning away from me again and staring off into the darkness. In the awkward silence that followed, I completely forgot what I'd come out here to ask him. Instead, I found myself reliving the first conversation Alex and I had had about him. What if Alex had been right back then? What if all of this was for nothing, and it turned out that Zed and I had nothing to do with each other?

"What happened tonight?" I suddenly asked, clearing my throat and scowling at the direction my thoughts were taking. _Bad idea, Grace,_ I told myself sternly. _Really bad idea._

Zed risked another quick glance in my direction, obviously uncomfortable now. "Nothing. Alex and I had a disagreement."

"A disagreement about what?" I persisted.

His eyes narrowed. "Drop it, Grace."

A shudder ran down my spine at the sound of my name, but I forced myself to stay still, glowering at him with my fists clenched. "No," I snapped back through my teeth. "I was doing perfectly fine tonight until I heard about the two of you, so it would be nice if you could explain. Quickly."

He shot me a cool look. "Ask Alex. I'm sure he'll tell you all the juicy details."

I could feel myself getting more and more agitated at the tone of his voice. "What the hell gives you the right to talk to me like that?" I snarled, my voice dangerously quiet. "I'm not a child, or one of those stupid, brainless bimbos you talk to at school. Obviously you don't agree with my dear brother, but I'm pretty sure I'm smart enough to decide for myself what actually happened. So are you going to explain to me why you had my brother arrested or not?"

"Hey, I didn't start that argument!" Zed protested, and an irrational surge of fury gripped my heart tightly. "It was Alex who had the problem, not me!"

"And I asked you why!" I almost yelled back at him.

"Because of you!"

That threw me. My face fell in surprise and Zed hesitated, catching his breath with a troubled expression. Apparently, he hadn't intended to tell me that.

"What?" I asked, struggling to regain my composure.

Zed snorted darkly, stuffing his hands into his pockets and leaning back again. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Grace. What are you so determined to pretend nothing's wrong? Don't you realise why you get so worked up around me?"

It took me a few seconds to find my voice. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it?" he snarled. "If you're so sure, prove it. Let me in."

"No," I frowned, shaking my head.

"If nothing's going to happen, you've got nothing to worry about, have you?" he pointed out. "Let me in and prove to me you aren't who I think you are."

"I said no!"

He laughed darkly, his expression almost maniac as he began to pace in front of me. Seeing him so troubled made me take a step back, a hauntingly familiar feeling stirring in the pit of my stomach. Was I really going to stand back and let this guy break? He was right, after all. In all likelihood, he had nothing to do with me, so what was the harm in letting him check? If I didn't, if I left him to terrorise himself with the idea that his soulfinder was just out of reach, intentionally hurting him, he was going to start going down a very dark path, and I'd been down there before. I knew what was waiting for him, and however much I couldn't stand him, I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

And still . . . I hadn't let anyone search my mind for a long time, and even then that hadn't been voluntary. My default was to allow enough access for telepathy, and only when absolutely necessary. I'd learnt from experience that once someone gets in, it's harder to get them out and keep them out.

But telepathy couldn't hurt, could it? I pursed my lips, my stomach squirming. What happened if I was wrong, and Zed was right? What happened if he was my soulfinder? What would I do then?

_Slim chance, Grace,_ I told myself, and that one tiny thought was enough to mask the doubt for just long enough.

"Fine," I snarled through my teeth. Zed froze, his anger wavering like he couldn't decide whether I was just toying with him. But, with pursed lips, I reached out for his mind with a wince. _Soulfinder know when they use telepathy, right? So say something to me._

He didn't reply, staring at me in surprise. For a moment, my chest tightened and I was almost sure he knew something I didn't. Then he straightened out, perfectly composed once more, and took a step toward me.

_Do you have any idea how beautiful you are when you're angry?_

A rush of emotion instantly came over me, so strong I almost choked. But before I could register anything other than confusion, Zed wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him, claiming me with one, passionate kiss.


	7. Chapter 6: Grace

In Zed's arms, I caved immediately. Never would I have ever even considered allowing a guy to get away with something like this, but I didn't seem to have a very firm grasp on my own mental state. My heart was hammering awkwardly in my chest and excited shivers raced down my spine to the small of my back, where I could feel Zed's warm hands pressing me into him. Arms tightly in place around his shoulders, my lips moved against his without a single thought or misgiving. I didn't even consider how disastrous this could be, holding him like he was my one and only lifeline. In the matter of seconds, I'd gone from despising him to needing him more than I needed oxygen.

He broke away slowly, leaving me breathless and subconsciously leaning into him. Kissing my forehead softly, I could feel him start to smile cautiously, his hold on me tightening a fraction. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this was a bad idea. Worse than bad, even. But I couldn't bring myself to push him away. Not yet. However selfish it was, I wanted just one moment with my soulfinder without worrying or panicking about what all of this meant. Determined to remember every tiny detail, I buried my face into the side of his neck, focusing on the way his hold seemed to warm me from the inside out, the smell of the cologne he was wearing and the way the kiss he pressed against my temple sent inviting shudders down my spine.

"I knew it was you," he muttered in my ear. "The moment I saw you, I knew it was you." My eyebrows pulled together slightly, but I said nothing, tightening my arms around his shoulders. He chuckled dryly. "God, you drive me crazy."

"I know the feeling," I mumbled back.

"Well, I'm sorry," he said, leaning back to look down at me. It took a moment for me to muster the courage to meet his gaze, and once I had, I found myself almost lost in the glistening deep blues and greens swirling in his eyes. "When I found out you were Alex's twin and his birthday was only a week after mine, I almost dragged you out of school to talk. Then I heard you didn't want to meet me, and I didn't take it very well."

"I noticed."

My chest was starting to tighten in panic. Knowing my one and only moment with my soulfinder was over much quicker than I'd hoped, I bit the inside of my lip and unwound my arms from his shoulders. Unaware of what was starting to happen, he took a small step back, his eyes still shining as his hands slid to my hips tauntingly.

"I can't believe it's actually you," I murmured, my mouth dry. The mixture of pure joy and heart-breaking, soul crushing devastation was beginning to overwhelm me, and it was starting to feel like I couldn't breathe.

Slowly, Zed frowned and moved forward again. "Is something wrong?"

Wincing through my teeth, I pushed myself away, far enough that his hands dropped from my hips and left me feeling alone and cold. His expression shifted again, and an irritation much worse than any anger he'd felt toward me previously seemed to take over. "I – I'm sorry, Zed, I – I can't," I stammered quietly, shaking my head and taking another few steps backwards.

"What?" he breathed with a short, misplaced laugh. "Grace, you're my soulfinder!"

"Exactly," I gulped awkwardly. How was I supposed to explain to him that the reason we were supposed to spend the rest of our lives together was the one reason I had to stay away from him?

"Grace?"

I jumped at the sound of Alex's voice, my heart seizing tightly. My brother stood in the doorway to the police station, his eyes drifting between me and Zed cautiously. His nose looked like it had been busted, but he barely noticed, shifting slightly like he wasn't sure whether he should be defending me or leaving to give Zed and me some privacy.

Gulping hard, I started to move toward him. "We need to go," I muttered at him shakily, keeping my eyes as far away from Zed as I could manage.

"Grace, wait!" The sound of his pained voice made me flinch, but Zed had barely started moving before Alex bolted forward, standing in front of me with his arm out to separate us. Making the mistake of glancing in Zed's direction, my chest felt like it was trying to crush my heart as punishment for hurting him.

"She said we're leaving," Alex frowned at him, his voice perfectly level.

Zed glowered, his fists tightening at his sides as the door to the station reception opened again. I didn't look to check, but I was almost sure that it was Zed's family. "I suppose this is exactly what you wanted," he snarled at my brother and a lump formed in my throat.

Alex barely blinked, for once not rising to the bait. "Not at all," he answered calmly. "For what's it worth, I'm sorry it's come to this. But if she wants to leave, we're leaving."

There was a moments silence, in which all I could do was stare at the back of Alex's jacket and hope I didn't throw up. "You can't ignore this, Grace," Zed muttered.

When I didn't – or rather couldn't – say anything, Alex sighed heavily and took me by the shoulders. Without another word, he grimaced at the Benedicts and led me through the car park, not daring to look back even once to see if they were following us.

He didn't say anything for a long time, letting me gulp down the freezing cold night air in a vain attempt to calm me down. My lips were still tingling after Zed's kiss, and just thinking about it made me want to turn back and tell him there'd been a huge mistake. But I couldn't do that. Instead, I fixed my eyes to my feet and watched them pound the pavement below, trusting Alex to steer me in the right direction.

Eventually though, Alex broke the silence. "Do I even want to know what happened back there?" he asked in a quiet voice.

I felt myself scoff weakly. "He kissed me," I admitted softly. "He figured out I was his soulfinder, and he . . . kissed me."

There was a long silence. "Gracie, I'm sorry," he muttered. "I don't know what got into me, I . . . I just snapped. And he was stood there, talking with this cheerleader-" He broke off, wincing through his teeth like he didn't want to finish the rest of his sentence. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less. Whoever the cheerleader was, whatever she'd been talking to Zed about, she meant little to nothing to me. I didn't even care enough to be jealous.

"You don't need to apologise, Alex," I replied sourly. "I cracked. After weeks of being so careful to avoid him, I cracked, and now I have no idea what I'm going to do next." Alex couldn't find the words to comfort me after that, so we walked the rest of the way home in silence.

When we finally got back, Cassandra was home. She'd chucked her shoes by the door, and we found her slouched over the breakfast bar with a large glass of red wine wryly. But, the moment she caught sight of the two of us, she shook herself awake, scowling angrily. "What the hell happened to you two?" she barked.

I didn't even have the energy to get annoyed that she'd left the hospital after I'd explicitly told her not to. The rush of unfamiliar emotions was still weighing me down, crushing my chest and terrifying me from the inside out. Without so much as a word to either of them, I turned and took the stairs two at a time, slipping into my bedroom and shutting the door behind me. I lay flat out on my bed, staring at the ceiling as I tried to collect my thoughts but it was no good. All I knew was that Zed was my soulfinder, and I was never allowed to see him again.

What hurt more was knowing that he wouldn't give up so easily, and every time he got close I'd only have to push him away again.

I could hear Alex and Cassandra having a deep conversation downstairs, and though I couldn't make out any of what was being said, I knew it was about me and Zed. Taking several ragged breaths, I fumbled through my CD collection for something to distract me. Choosing the heaviest rock band I could find, I shoved the CD into the stereo and cranked the volume up as loud as I could stand it.

I wasn't sure how long it took me to get to sleep that night, but I vaguely remember Cassandra sneaking in to turn my music off while I slept. My dreams were strange and confusing, all of course, centring around Zed Benedict. The lingering sensation of his lips against mine still haunted me, and I woke with a start, almost sure I could feel his arms wrapped around me. Staring around the room with the slow realisation that he was as far away from me as ever, my throat closed and I had to choke back a startling wave of tears.

_ Crying never helped anyone, Gracie_, I scolded myself, repeating a mantra I hadn't heard in a long time. When I was a little girl, my mother used to say it to me when I'd fallen and hurt myself or I was upset. She'd just pull me onto her lap and hold me close, whispering softly to me and telling jokes to make me laugh. She knew my father didn't like me crying. He'd shout and tell me it was a sign of weakness, and when you were three years old, that only made you cry harder.

For almost fifteen minutes, I simply sat upright in my bed, scanning around the room while I waited for myself to calm down. A soft light was shining through the large window to the left, and having fell asleep fully clothed on top of my sheets, they still looked crisp and fresh, with only the small imprint of my form to suggest that anything had changed. The wooden floor was worn and worn, and the walls were painted a clean, fresh white.

Pursing my lips, I pushed myself to the edge of my bed and stumbled to my feet, ignoring the strange, lightheaded feeling and slowly making my way to the window. Setting it open, I allowed the cold morning air to rush over my skin for a few minutes before pushing myself away from the ledge and snatching a towel and some fresh clothes out of my closet on my way to the bathroom.

Showering and getting dressed, I headed downstairs for breakfast with an impending sense of doom. Even as I took the stairs, I could hear Alex and Cassandra muttering amongst themselves again, but I didn't dare try to figure out what they were talking about. The thought that Alex could have finally caved and confessed to Cassandra just how serious our situation was made me slightly nauseous. So instead, I skipped down the last stairs as noisily as possible and scooped my damp hair into a messy bun.

In the kitchen, Cassandra was cooking breakfast and for the first time, Alex was slouched at the breakfast bar, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he spoke with her quietly. Clearing my throat, I tried to dismiss the unusual pity in their eyes and moved to take the seat beside Alex.

After an awkward moment's silence, Cassandra coughed. "I'm making pancakes," she told me in her usual, stern tone. "Would you like some?"

Though my stomach twisted at the thought of food, I nodded. "Please."

Alex seemed a little uncomfortable with my sudden politeness, squirming as he glanced sideways at me. "So," he started with a grimace. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Queasy," I admitted with a small shrug. "Tired." Empty. Devastated. Terrified. He could have taken his pick.

"Well, Cassandra needs a hand in the stables this morning," he continued, and my gaze dropped as the woman herself placed a plate of pancakes in front of me with a bottle of maple syrup, trying incredibly hard not to look irritated. I knew she'd never normally even admit to needing help, letting alone accepting any from me.

"I'm sure she'll manage," I shrugged without looking at either of them. "It's Sunday, Alex. I have plans."

He shifted, frowning at me slightly. He'd known since the start of the week that I was supposed to be spending the day shopping in Denver with Louisa and Sara. "Yeah, I know, but I thought you'd want to give it miss today, you know, just until you get everything sorted."

"Sorted?"

When he just gave me a strange look, Cassandra sighed heavily with a roll of her eyes and leant on the breakfast bar opposite me. "He means you've had a shock," she told me bluntly. "And it's only natural that it would take a while for you to get back on track."

I stared at her blankly, and it wasn't until she turned away from get Alex's pancakes that I shook myself awake again. "I'm fine," I lied. "I just want to carry on as normal."

Beside me, Alex straightened out. "What are you going to do tomorrow? Zed won't carry on acting like nothing's changed, Grace. He isn't ever going to give up."

I wasn't sure if the thought thrilled or scared me. I had to clear my throat before I could talk. "I can't avoid him forever. It's not like I can drop out of high school, is it?"

"A few days won't hurt," he argued with a shrug. "Besides, I could do with a day off."

I snorted, shooting him a dark look. "I'm glad my life's little dramas get you out of school."

"Not what I meant, Gracie," he winced. "Look, if you don't want to help Cassie out at the stables, we can do something else? We could head into Aspen for a movie? Wait until school's started and hit the slopes?"

"The Benedicts run the slopes, and you've just attacked their youngest son," I scowled at him.

"I highly doubt they are going to complain if you want some time to get things sorted."

"Oh, so now you're trying to use me to get around his parents?" I snarled. My anger was suddenly back in full force and I could feel my body start to shake. Sure I could feel my blood starting to boil, I pushed my plate away and jumped to my feet. "I'm not hungry."

"Gracie," Alex started exasperatedly, reaching out to catch my arm, but I yanked it out of his grasp with a glower.

"Forget it."

"Oh, come on, Gracie! I'm sorry!"

"Just leave her, Alex!" Cassandra snapped as I rushed back upstairs and threw myself back into my bedroom. Just like the night before, I turned my stereo on full blast and buried my head in the pillows on my bed.

Of all the places . . . why did my soulfinder have to be here? Now? Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to hope that things would ever be calm enough for me to be anywhere near him, but how was I supposed to explain all that? Could I? I knew at least one of Zed's older brothers was a cop, and there were questionable rumours about Victor Benedict, who seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth and was rarely ever seen. What happened if either of them started asking questions?

Who I was trying to kid? Of course they would. They worked in law enforcement. If they heard their little brother was remotely involved with a girl from a questionable background, they'd try and find out where I came from. I wanted to hate them for it, but honestly, they were only trying to protect him, and I understood that. If things were the other way around, I'd be the same.

But the thought of what would happen if the wrong people found out that Zed Benedict was my soulfinder . . . I was almost sick just thinking about it.

Shaking myself, I untied my hair and braided it back tightly, shoving my feet into my worn combat boots and snatching my leather jacket off the end of the bed. Without thinking twice, I pushed my window open as far as it could go and swung my legs out, reaching forward and grabbing a branch of the cherry blossom tree that stood right beside the house. I climbed down expertly and dropped to the ground with a soft thump, slipping out of the back gate and moving down the street.

I wasn't sure where I was planning on going. Every time I thought I'd calmed down enough to head back home and get on with my life, the thought of Alex and Cassandra whispering about me made my blood boil and I carried on moving with a locked jaw.

I'd long since moved past the stables and started walking down one of the dirt tracks through the trees behind it when my phone gave a shrill ring from my pocket. Pursing my lips, I checked the caller ID before I even considered answering. It was Yves. Vaguely wondering if I should change my mobile number, I took a deep breath and answered. "Hello?"

"A guy called Niall just text," came the voice on the other end, and I went rigid, heart clenching. It wasn't Yves at all, it was Zed. In the background, I thought I could hear the other brother muttering darkly, but I couldn't be sure. "He says your friend Louisa thinks you've gone AWOL."

It took me a moment or two to find my voice. "Sounds like he's finally plucked up the courage to talk to her," I commented dryly.

Zed snorted. "Nice try. Stop changing the subject. Where are you?"

"Not in Denver, apparently."

"Do you have to be so childish?" he snapped irritably.

My jaw locked. What was it with boys who thought they could talk down to me? I'd put up with it from Alex my whole life, and now I had to take it from Zed too? Not a chance. "It's not your job to keep track of me, Zed!" I spat back. "Now if you haven't got anything constructive to say-"

"Please, stop and think about this for a moment," he sighed wryly, and I could tell he'd had even less sleep than I had. "Why are you trying so hard to avoid me?"

I gritted my teeth. "I've already told your brother, I can't explain that."

"So you expect me to sit back and forget about it?" he snorted darkly.

"If possible."

"I can't believe this," he grumbled. "You know we're going to find out what you're keeping quiet?"

"Again, I told Yves not to start asking questions," I snarled through my teeth. "Do you have any idea what you could be doing?"

"No, because you won't explain. So it looks like we'll have to do things the hard way."

"Zed, I swear to God-" I broke off with a frustrated yell, kicking out at a fallen tree branch.

"Then explain it to me!" he demanded.

"Fine!" I caved furiously, knowing there was no other way he'd ever let this drop. "Fine, I'll explain, okay?"

"When?" he rushed eagerly.

I scowled, annoyed that I was looking forward to seeing him just as much as he was. "Tomorrow. After school. And _don't_ call me again."

"I can't promise that," he said, not sounding in the least bit apologetic.

"Oh for Christ sake, Zed, you-"

"See you tomorrow," he interrupted. Without another word, he hung up, leaving me shaking in anger and wondering what the hell I'd just agreed to.


	8. Chapter 7: Alex

_Alex_

"Where the hell have you been?"

Grace frowned, obviously not at all interested in what I had to say or what I thought at the moment. "Helping out at the stables, like you said," she answered sourly, shrugging one shoulder at me as she kicked her shoes off.

"Don't lie to me," I retorted irritably. "Cassie hasn't seen you all day. We've been going out of our minds, Gracie!"

She shot me a cool look. "I never knew you cared so much." I glowered at her, my fingers twitching angrily. Her expression faltered for a moment, and she sighed heavily with another shrug. "I just needed some air, okay?" she muttered.

I hesitated, searching her expression carefully. Slowly, I forced myself to relax and take a deep breath, reminding myself over and over again that she had every right to be worked up at the moment. "Don't run off like that again, Gracie," I frowned quietly. "I'm not used to you acting out, I thought something had happened."

"So it's perfectly fine for you to run off when you feel like it, but I have to stay here and be a good little sister?" she scoffed, dragging her jacket off and launching it at the coat rack.

I shot her a bemused look. "I'm trying to be good."

"By attacking Zed, you mean?" she glowered irritably. Honestly, I was surprised she hadn't brought that up sooner, but then I supposed finding your soulfinder could be a little distracting.

"In my defence-"

"You don't have a defence, Alex, so stop talking before you annoy me even more," she warned darkly.

"Okay," I agreed slowly, holding my hands out in surrender. "Anyway, I have a surprise for you."

She hesitated, lifting an eyebrow at me cautiously, but before she could say anything, something behind me gave a high-pitched yap. She blinked. "Was that . . .?"

I grinned at her, stepping to the side to let her past and into the living room. Sat on the end of the sofa with its tail wagging and a pink bow tied around its neck was a tiny Dalmatian pup, its body and legs covered in small black spots, the tip of its tail entirely black, and one black ear and one white. Yapping happily, its tail thumped against the sofa behind it, its tiny front paws skittering on the spot in its excitement. By the looks of it, it was too scared and too small to jump off the sofa, despite its obvious desire to get as close to Grace and me as possible.

"You bought a puppy," she stared, taken aback.

"The woman I got her from didn't really want to give her up," I told her with a smile as she stepped forward and scooped the pup into her arms. Immediately, the pup yapped again and stretched to lick Grace's face, her tiny tail thumping against her side as she scrambled excitedly. "Her name was Blair," I continued, chuckling. "But she's young enough for us to change it if you want."

She stared back at me, her expression unreadable. "You bought a puppy, Alex."

I laughed lightly, shrugging. "And? Don't you remember? You had a puppy when we were little. Mum bought you a Dalmatian because you were obsessed with the Disney movie."

"I was three," she protested sourly, tickling Blair behind the ears.

"You called him Spot," I reminded her with a smirk.

"I was three!"

"Oh, and you were an imaginative kid," I laughed sarcastically. She scowled, perching herself on the edge of the sofa and sitting Blair on her lap. She yapped again, happy enough to curl up and let Grace tickle her stomach while we spoke. Watching my sister's expression slip again, I pursed my lips and shifted forward, slumping to the ground in front of the sofa.

"You didn't need to buy me a dog, Alex," she mumbled with a small frown.

I shrugged again. "I know. But every house needs a dog, right?"

She scoffed. "You hate animals, Alex."

"I don't _hate _them," I winced through my teeth. "I don't appreciate it when they pee in my shoes, that's all."

"So you bought a puppy," she sighed, watching Blair fidget on her lap. However much she complained, I knew she loved the dog. Never one to socialise, Grace had always been more comfortable around animals than she had people. "Alex, we need to talk," Grace muttered reluctantly. "Things are . . ."

She trailed off, gulping hard and I glanced up at her with a tight grimace. "Yeah, I know. I've been trying to figure out how to talk to you about it without putting my foot in my mouth. If you hadn't noticed, I'm not good at this kind of thing."

"I noticed," she promised me with a soft snort. "I'm just not sure what to say . . . or do, or even think. This wasn't exactly how I hoped things would pan out when we moved here."

Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself up onto the sofa beside her, a small frown settling between my eyes. "You can't be thinking about moving," I muttered. She shrugged a shoulder, wincing sharply and I shifted on the spot. "He's your soulfinder, Gracie. We can't turn out back on him, or the rest of them for that matter. You know that."

She pulled a face. "They'd be better off."

There was no point in lying to her. She knew the truth even if she wouldn't admit it. "Maybe," I agreed with her. "Maybe if we'd moved the moment we found out the Benedicts were Savants, but it's too late for that. The truth is, we knew there was a chance you could be Zed's soulfinder, but it was that remote, we decided to stay. Then, despite the odds, Zed found you and now we can't leave."

"And if we stay, they'll only start asking questions," she frowned, and something wavered in her expression.

"What if they already have?" I replied calmly. She dropped her gaze, pulling Blair a little closer to her. "Gracie, the eldest brother Trace is a cop. I have no idea what the others do, but there are rumours enough to make an educated guess, and it's not good. Sooner or later, one of them is going to check up on us, because that's the way they work. It's only natural they'll want to protect their brother. They aren't going to have any idea what kind of attention they'll be bringing on themselves unless one of us tells them."

She hesitated, flicking her gaze toward me. "I'm starting to think that's a bad idea."

"You've done nothing wrong, Gracie," I frowned at her. "It's not like they'll arrest you."

"But it isn't us I'm worried about anymore, Alex," she persisted, passing Blair toward me and jumping to her feet, pacing in front of me. I pulled a face as the pup started to fidget again, wriggling in my hold. "If I tell them the truth, they'll try to fix it like everyone else does, and look what happened last time. The entire British section of the Savant Net can't keep this situation contained, and now I have to drag the Benedicts into it all? They'll be killed, Alex, if they're lucky!"

"Then there has to be a way to make them believe us," I frowned determinedly, dropping the pup onto the sofa beside me and standing up to force her to look at me. "To make them take this seriously, because if we sit back and do nothing, then they're as good as dead anyway, Gracie, and you know it. We have to do something. We can't just sit back and wait for him to find us again!"

She gulped, shaking slightly. "There's a chance he'll come straight for us," she muttered. "He might not even go anywhere near the Benedicts."

"Oh come on, Gracie!" I cursed, taking her shoulders roughly. "There was also a chance Zed wasn't your soulfinder, look how that turned out! And even if he did ignore the Benedicts, if he comes for you, they won't ignore him. Do you actually think Zed is going to sit back and let you get dragged off by some maniac?"

"They might not have a choice," she pointed out weakly.

"And you think they'll leave it at that?" I scowled. "Gracie, you said it yourself. They work either in or with law enforcement. They won't roll over and leave you alone. We have to do something. Quickly. Before that psycho finds out where we are."

She bit her bottom lip, and I knew she was holding out on me. Just as an uncomfortable, warning feeling began growing in the pit of my stomach, she sighed and hauled Blair back into her arms. "Zed phoned earlier," she mumbled.

I hesitated, forcing my features to relax slightly as I tried to gauge her reaction. "Oh?"

"It came up as Yves' number," she shrugged as though defending her actions, keeping her eyes on the pup. "Louisa and Niall told them I hadn't showed up to go shopping. I . . . I may have lost my temper and told him I'd explain everything already."

I blinked in surprise, raising my eyebrows. "And now you're having second thoughts?"

"Now it doesn't seem like I have much of a choice," she sighed heavily.

I wasn't sure what else I could say to comfort her. She was too smart to be patronised with the usual _'everything's going to be alright'_ speech. Instead, we spent an awkward night debating how best to explain everything to Zed and the Benedicts and by the time she went to bed, Grace looked distinctly ill.

It wasn't a good night to be tormented by more dreams of a girl I didn't know, but she was on my mind the moment I closed my eyes. It was a different dream this time. Instead of being shown the same thing over and over again, this time, I saw her curled up in the driver's seat of the car she'd broken into, hands clamped over her ears as the windscreen exploded in gunfire.

She was terrified, it was easy to see. Her crystal grey eyes swam with tears, and she was muttering under her breath in a language I thought might have been Greek. Still, despite all that, she fumbled with the steering wheel and the gear stick until she found the right gear, slamming her foot onto the accelerator without looking where she was going.

Several screams cut through the air, and the girl peered over the dashboard cautiously, fumbling with the steering wheel until she was heading away from the blurry, shining lights of the city she'd just escaped from . The moment the gunshots could no longer find their target, she righted herself in her seat, tears leaking down her cheeks as she swerved down a different road, fleeing the city as fast as she could.

The dark night made driving difficult, but it had nothing on the stream of tears blurring the girl's vision. Her shoulders were shaking, and one of her hands kept finding its way back to the large wound on her side, wincing when her sobs pulled it in the wrong direction. The helpless look on her face, no matter how misleading, made me want to hunt the girl down and keep her protected myself, but I still had no idea where or how to find her.

I wasn't sure where she was trying to get to, but her eyelids were beginning to close in exhaustion. Instead of pulling over and trying to get to sleep, she just shook herself and blinked a few more times than necessary, determined to keep herself awake. But it was useless. No matter how hard the girl tried, she couldn't keep her eyes open. Slowly, they began to close again, and the car began to swerve into the opposite lane.

Seconds later, a loud horn sounded, ripping through the night's silence and the girl started with yelp, swerving out of the path of an incoming lorry and missing it by inches. A flash of the lorry's headlights blared in the girl's eyes, and a rush of panic seemed to seep straight through my body.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, ALEX!"

I woke with a start, my wide eyes immediately locking on Grace's furious expression. She was stood by my bedside, glaring at me accusingly. "G-Grace?" My heart hammered, adrenaline rushing through my veins, but she didn't seem to care.

"Get up," she instructed with a scowl, and I blinked in surprise.

"G-Grace, the girl-"

"Not now," she dismissed irritably, waving a hand at me. A rush of irrational anger made my fists clench but I kept my mouth shut with great difficulty. Only now did I notice that she was full dressed in old blue jeans and a dark green hoodie, her arms wrapped around her middle tightly and her hair scooped into a messy bun at the top of her neck, stray strands flying around her face.

"What's going on?" I asked slowly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

Grace huffed with a glower. "We have guests."

I stared, shifting awkwardly to glance at the alarm clock beside me. "At half three in the morning? Who the hell-"

"The FBI," she interrupted. "So get up, and please do it quickly, because if I have to put up with Zed Benedict's arrogant smirk for one minute longer-"

"Zed?" I blurted.

Her jaw clenched, and she snatched my hoodie off the back of the bedroom door, launching it at me. I caught it, anger now replaced with a growing concern of my sister's mental stability. "Up, _please," _she insisted through her teeth, spinning around and letting herself out of the room.

Without hesitating, I scrambled out of bed and threw on the first clothes I could find. If Zed was in the same house as Grace along with the FBI, I had a feeling my night was about to get a lot more interesting.


	9. Chapter 8: Alex

Grace was right. The FBI were in our house. What she'd failed to mention was that they were there in the form of Victor Benedict.

He was a tall, imposing sort of man with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. At the moment, he was frowning at Grace, like she was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out. Beside him, the eldest brother, Trace, stood with his arms folded over his chest and had the usual family resemblance that all the Benedicts seemed to possess. In the background, Yves was stood slightly in front of Zed, as if he was making an conscious effort to keep him separated from Grace, who herself was stood at the other end of the room, behind the breakfast bar with her eyes fixed on a cup of coffee and her arms still wrapped around her middle.

Cassandra, on the other hand, was pacing next to her, her makeup smudged and her hair loose around her face. "Is someone going to explain what's going on?" she snapped indignantly.

Grace looked up long enough to shoot me a warning look, the sort I'd only ever seen once or twice before. It meant we were in trouble. Serious trouble. The sort that Cassandra should be protected from before things got really messy. "Nothing to concern yourself with Cassandra," I said shortly. "Go back to bed."

"I need to speak with her," Victor interrupted with a slight scowl.

"This has nothing to do with her," Grace replied coolly, fixing him with a glare she reserved especially for troublesome cops. "If you want to get yourselves involved in this, fine, but she stays out of it. Otherwise, I have nothing to say to any of you."

There was a stony silence, in which Cassandra could do nothing but gawp. Victor's scowl had deepened a fraction, and Yves had thrown out one of his arms to stop Zed moving further into the room.

I cleared my throat. "Cassie, go upstairs," I instructed quietly.

"Alex," she started angrily.

"Go, Cassandra," Grace snapped. "Please."

She blinked in surprise, and even I had to double take. Grace never said please. Ever. Especially not to Cassandra. Pursing her lips, she frowned at Grace for one last second then nodded, turning around and hurrying up the stairs without another word.

"Your legal guardian should be present," Trace told us with a slight frown.

"Who is dead," Grace replied shortly. "So that won't be possible I'm afraid, Officer."

"Grace," I warned slowly, stepping further into the room as the Benedicts stared at her in surprise. I hadn't seen her like this for a long time, and I'd hoped and prayed I'd never see her like it again.

She flicked her eyes toward me, then back to Zed with a flinch. He was frowning, watching her carefully like he knew she was about to lose it but he still wasn't leaving. I had to admire him for that, and I couldn't help thinking that if anyone was going to save my sister, it was him. "Just get this over with," she muttered, dropping her gaze. "You shouldn't have even been asking questions. I told you I'd explain."

Zed opened his mouth to answer her, taking another step forward, but Yves held him back again with a pointed look. "You'd have told him everything?" Victor questioned.

Grace's face fell. "Alright," I scowled at him. "That's eno-"

"No," she interrupted, gulping hard. Zed stared as the rest of his siblings shuffled. "I wouldn't have."

"Why?" Zed blinked.

She scoffed weakly. "I can barely make myself stand still to listen to your brothers say it out loud," she answered with a small shrug. "There's no way I . . ."

She trailed off, dropping her gaze again, and I shifted to stand beside her, handing her the cup of coffee with a frown. She pursed her lips, taking the coffee and leaning against the counter behind her heavily. "Can we get to the point please?" I asked sharply. "What are you here for?"

Victor and Trace exchanged troubled looks, and I figured that wasn't a good sign. It meant they knew something of our past, at the very least, and since some of it is very easily misinterpreted when taken out of context, _something_ was probably worse than _everything._

"Since you arrived, with no parents and under the care of a woman who obviously isn't a Savant, we've been incredibly curious about why you were here and what exactly it was that you were running from," Victor started with a deep breath. "And while you appeared to be no threat to our family and reluctant to draw any attention to yourselves, we decided that it was perhaps best to leave you to live your lives in peace."

I scoffed. "I have a feeling that wasn't your idea," I replied, scanning the look on his face.

He ignored me, but behind him, Zed snorted darkly, earning him a sharp dig in the ribs from Yves. "The point is that since then, you've been acting strangely," Trace continued. "Your paranoia after Zed and Alex were arrested in particular seemed a little over the top."

Grace shot a half-hearted scowl in Yves's direction. "I'm sorry, Grace, but you really freaked out back there," he grimaced at her.

"So after I explicitly told you that it would be a bad idea to ask questions and draw any attention in this direction, you see me get paranoid and ignore me?" she questioned, her voice strangely calm, as though she didn't have the energy to get worked up anymore.

"We can't continue blindly," Victor pointed out sternly.

"And none of you thought to ask us?" I frowned. Yves immediately made to argue, and I sighed heavily. "Okay, ask me. I know Grace is too paranoid to get anyone else involved."

"For good reason," she pointed out sourly, sipping her coffee without looking at anyone.

"However we got our information, it's done now," Victor sighed. "And I can promise you that the people I asked are trustworthy. No one knows you're here." I glanced sideways at Grace, hoping she could at least pretend to go along with it, but she was barely listening, her fingertips drumming anxiously on the side of her coffee cup. I didn't blame her. We'd heard all this before. In the early days of our lives on the run, we'd trusted police officers and the Savant Net, only to be caught out by moles or people who'd been bought off.

"Get it over with," I sighed eventually, leaning on the counter in front of me.

"We knew you were British, and obviously in serious trouble, so it wasn't hard to find out who you were after we'd asked the right people," Victor continued. "We tracked your last movements in Edinburgh, where you lived with an elderly woman named Elise Francis, under the names Alexander and Grace Garrett."

At that, Grace shuffled and risked a glance in his direction. My gut twisted. I knew what she was thinking, and I began praying that she didn't ask what I knew was on her mind. I didn't want to hear the answer. Just thinking about it made me feel like I'd had a knife rammed through my chest.

"Who is she?" Trace asked slowly, watching my reaction.

The muscles in my hands flexed and clenched. "Our grandmother," I told him shortly.

"What happened to her?" Grace asked, and I flinched, my hands tightening around the edges of the counter. Zed shifted forward, frowning.

Victor hesitated, taking a deep breath and drawing himself to his full height. "She died of cancer three weeks ago," he told us and I realised a ragged breath I hadn't noticed I'd held back. Grace paled considerably, her fingertips white around her cup. "I'm sorry."

"Carry on," I instructed with a frown, ignoring the way my voice caught in the back of my throat. At the time, I'd known leaving was the right choice to make. Gran had people to take care of her when she needed help, and if we'd stayed, she'd have been killed and they wouldn't have made it quick. But now, realisation seemed to hit that I'd lost her completely, that I'd never see her again. She'd never give me that exasperated look she got when I'd messed up, or tell us stories about our mother. We'd lost the only decent member of our family we'd had left, and knowing that there wasn't a single thing we could do to stop it made my chest ache.

Victor nodded at me slowly, but in the background, Zed glowered irritably at the back of his brother's head. "We should come back later," he as good as growled.

"No," Grace replied quickly, flicking her eyes toward him briefly. His expression relaxed immediately, but he still didn't look comfortable. "Alex is right. Get it over with."

Trace took a deep breath, eyeing the two of us pitifully. "After we'd found your grandmother, it was relatively easy to trace it backwards," he explained softly. "There were several small charges on Alex's criminal record, which we figured was why you moved around as much as you did, and we finally traced it back to the city of Manchester in England. You were thirteen years old when you were first arrested."

The two elder brothers seemed to watch me for a reaction after that, but I barely noticed. My thoughts were still back on Edinburgh with my grandmother.

"That one was technically my fault," Grace admitted grudgingly.

Trace blinked at her. "Your record is spotless."

"That's because I never got caught." Even I looked up at that. I wouldn't pretend Grace was a perfect citizen, and when things were tough and we had no other choice but to slum it on the streets, she hadn't exactly been helpless. But normally, she did a good job of forgetting the worst parts. Now, she was bragging to a cop and an FBI agent that the only reason she hadn't got a criminal record was because she was too good at it to get caught.

Undisturbed by their shocked looks, she shrugged a shoulder and took another sip of her coffee. "I never hurt anyone," she continued. "And I'm not proud of any of it, but when you're running for your life, the law isn't generally the first thing on your mind."

Trace still appeared mildly surprised, but Victor didn't seem to care much. "We heard that you turned to the police forces in England twice for help," he said. "Once was the Greater Manchester Police, once at Scotland Yard in London. Both times, several officers were left hospitalised or worse and the two of you were nowhere to be found."

"We had no choice," I frowned.

"I didn't say you did," he pointed out calmly. "In fact, I fully understand why you ran, considering you were at most eleven years old." Grace shifted, but said nothing, her eyes once again fixed on her coffee. I couldn't blame her. The only reason Victor wasn't more suspicious was because he knew what was coming next, and neither of us were looking forward to hearing it all said aloud again, especially since the last time that we'd had this conversation was with the Manchester police force.

"The first attack on the police was in London when you were eight years old," Victor frowned, and my clutch on the edge of the counter tightened. "It took us awhile to find it, since the report is under your birth names, Jackson and Olivia. According to the report, you'd ran away from home the day before you arrived at Scotland Yard."

"If you can call a place like that home," I shrugged darkly, eyes narrowing.

He hesitated, casting his brothers a warning look before taking a deep breath. "You told officers there that you'd ran away from a man named Jacob Matthews."

My fingers were starting to hurt they were clutching the counter that hard. Grace, now looking distinctly ill, had set the coffee cup down as her hands began to shake, wrapping her arms tightly around her middle again. Just the sound of that man's name sent furious ripples through my body. For so long now, I'd been sorely tempted to find him and beat the life out of the man. I knew, logically, I'd most likely be killed before I could get close enough, but he'd single-handedly ruined our lives. The only thing that stopped me was knowing Grace would do anything to stop me. She was terrified of Matthews, and rightly so. He'd treated her so much worse than he had me.

"You claimed he was involved in criminal activities and had kept you against your will for just over two years," Trace continued quietly. "You also told the police that he'd been responsible for your mother's death . . . and that he was your father."

The atmosphere suddenly felt like it was weighing down on my shoulders. My blood seared in anger, and glancing sideways at Grace was a bad idea. She'd turned her back to the Benedicts, taking in long gulps of cold air in a vain attempt to keep calm. That was what fuelled most of my anger these days. The idea that Matthews had murdered my mother was bad enough. Knowing he could terrify my sister just by hearing his name made me sick with fury.

"Our Mum used to work at Scotland Yard," I told them through my teeth, trying desperately to calm myself down. "She was part of an operation to take down one of Matthews' criminal businesses, but they underestimated him and things went south pretty quickly. She got kidnapped. I don't know what happened, or what his thugs were planning to do, but before they could hurt her, she met Matthews himself."

"I don't understand," Yves admitted after a moments silence. "How did they end up . . .?"

Grace took a ragged breath before I could answer him, replying without turning around. "She was his soulfinder," she told them in a shaky voice, and the Benedicts all looked like she'd slapped them. "He couldn't have hurt her even if he wanted to back then."

"She stuck around, probably to try and help him," I continued, refusing to let Grace contribute to the conversation anymore. It was tearing her apart just standing there. "I couldn't tell you if she managed, but she thought that if anyone could make him see sense then it was her. But he managed to convince her she had. It wasn't until we were about five when things started getting bad. She'd always be crying, getting into constant arguments with him, there were strange men hovering around the house. Within in a year, he lost it. He didn't mean to hurt her, but that didn't matter. When he loses his temper, even he can't control what happens."

There was another heavy silence, in which the Benedicts tried to digest what I'd told them. I doubt any of them had ever heard of a situation like that before. I know I'd always believed soulfinders hurting each other wasn't possible. But then I knew what Matthews was capable of. I'd seen it, first hand.

"Whatever sanity he had left was gone after that," I continued in a dark mutter. "While Mum had tried to keep Grace and me out of his way, he knew he could use us. I kept as much of his attention on me as I could, since-" I broke off with a sharp breath, eyeing Grace's stance cautiously. "Since Grace reminded him too much of Mum. He always got . . . unstable."

Grace kept it together, but barely. I could see her eyes start to shine with tears, something she refused to do publically. It took both Yves and Trace to keep Zed on the other side of the room, but for the first time, I found myself wishing they'd let him past. Whatever she said, however independent she tried to be, she needed him. There was no way she was going to let me help her, and if Zed could, I'd be happy enough to stand back and let him.

"Which is why you left," Trace concluded with a sigh.

"He's been hunting us ever since," I warned him. "And from what we've heard, his criminal enterprise covers most of the south of England and is still growing."

Victor was back in his element. "Matthews has built up quite a reputation for himself," he frowned. "Most of the other criminal organisations in Britain, big and small, won't cross him, and if he asks for something, he generally gets it. The Savant Net over there has been working for years to control his influence and bring him down, but they aren't having much luck. The Redfields in particular are working almost constantly to keep him under surveillance."

"I've heard of the Redfields," Grace muttered distractedly, still not looking at anyone. "They're supposed to be one of the most powerful families in the Net."

"They are," he agreed. "They've managed to bring down some of the worst criminals out there. The entire family is in law enforcement. No one knows where most of them go or what they do. They're rarely ever seen in the same place as each other, and you could be talking to one of them without even realising who they really are."

Grace flicked her eyes over her shoulder at him. "Didn't Matthews take out the eldest son and his in laws?"

Victor and Trace shifted, obviously not expecting her to know that. "His attack was entirely unexpected," Trace replied.

"He apparently left four children orphaned," she continued darkly.

"We aren't saying Matthews isn't a threat," Victor told her patiently. "But the Redfields weren't aware he had any interest in them until that day. It's the main reason they're so invested in bringing him down."

"That doesn't change the fact he's still looking for us," I scowled at them, eyeing Grace's expression carefully.

"No, it doesn't," he conceded. "But the Redfields have the border locked down. Any Savant crossing the borders out of the UK is being vetted. Matthews already has too much influence in Europe, and no one wants him to move into the US as well. He's even had to let up some of his control in Scotland, since that's where the Redfields live. Short of mounting a full on assault on the borders, it's virtually impossible for him to get over here."

"Virtually," Grace repeated dryly. "Assuming he hasn't got people over here already."

"Are you that determined to stay alone?" Zed scowled, suddenly angry.

"Determined not to let anyone else die, actually," she spat back irritably, finally turning to face him properly. "I'm sorry if that offends you."

He glowered, opening his mouth to answer back, but Yves jabbed him in his side sharply. "You're safe here, Grace," Yves said carefully. She didn't answer, turning back away from them all again.

"Is that everything?" I asked abruptly, straightening out importantly. "Now that we've aired all the family's dirt secrets."

Zed snorted in disbelief, glaring between Grace and me, but Yves and Trace kept him in his place. Victor, on the other hand, seemed more curious than annoyed. "The Redfields have closed the borders, and if they say there's no chance of Matthews getting through, then they've got things under control. If there are any of his people in the US, we will find them."

Grace hesitated, scanning his expression over her shoulder. "Good luck with that."

Grimacing at her, he turned and herded his brothers out of the living room. Zed went a little unwillingly, but Grace didn't turn to look at him. Instead, she waited in complete silence until she heard the front door close behind them all.

"So," she started with a loud sniff, turning to face me with her arms folded over her chest. "You said you had another dream about that girl?"

I blinked in astonishment. Forgetting for a moment that Grace had recently been refusing to speak about the girl until I'd asked Zed about his premonitions, she completely ignored the fact we'd spent the past hour discussing the worst part of our lives with her soulfinder and his family.

But at the mention of the girl, my stomach shifted uncomfortably. The last dream was the first time I'd seen something different, and not just her running through a city of blurring lights. She was still in trouble, and I _had _to help her. Only now, if Victor was right, Grace and I were safe here. That meant when I found out where she was, I didn't need to worry about getting her into more trouble. Instead, I could focus on getting her out of it.

All I needed now was the right help. And I was starting to think I knew exactly how to get it.

The trouble was, trying to convince Grace to talk to Zed was as useless as talking to the dog. I was starting to think that no matter how many high-powered Savants promised her that she was safe, she wouldn't ever take the risk. A small part of me had to admire her self-restraint, but most of the time, I was criticising her for being overly paranoid. If she had her way, she wouldn't ever actually _live_ her life. She'd keep her head down and trying to make as little impact on the world as humanly possible.

Now though, that wasn't an option. One way or another, we had to get her to see sense, before either she or Zed lost it completely and caused even more trouble.


	10. Chapter 9: Grace

_Grace_

School the next week was unbearable. Every time I thought I'd finally got the hang of avoiding a severely persistent Zed, I'd turn around and he'd be there. It didn't help that Yves had taken his side in the latest dispute and informed me that if Victor and the Redfields said we were safe, there was no reason to second guess them. Apparently, he'd never been at the mercy of a complete psychopath before.

But when I couldn't even see my friends at lunch or after school anymore, things were getting bad. _Really_ bad. I might have never been one for having a social life, but now I had one, who was Zed to take it away again? On many occasions, I'd had sorely tempted to argue it out with him, but that meant I'd have to talk to him, and he'd only think he'd won if I did that.

So instead, I took refuge at the stables, helping a very reluctant Cassandra out during my free time. When I finally did get home, I'd warned Alex that I'd quite happily kill him if he ever let Zed or his family anywhere near the house again.

"Everything okay Grace?" Denise asked as she slipped into the small white-washed bungalow we used as a staffroom that sat just outside the stable yard. She was in her late twenties, possibly early thirties, with flaming red hair chopped into a pixie cut and a slim, elegant face. Like most of the other stable hands here, she was dressed in tatty jeans, thick work boots and several jackets in a vain attempt to stay warm.

I nodded at her distantly, flicking through my Spanish textbook with only a vague interest. Most of the time, I didn't mind Denise interrupting my homework to ask for my help out on the yard, but today, I'd rather she just left me alone. She was one of those people that felt if there was a problem, even if it was nothing to do with her, talking it out was always the answer.

"You seem really quiet today," she told me with a small, concerned frown. I didn't answer. "In fact, you've been quiet all week. Is there something bothering you?"

_Someone,_ I thought dryly, shaking my head at her. _And at the moment, it's you._

"Come to think of it, I've never seen you here so much," Denise continued, shrugging off one of her many jackets. "Not that I mind, of course, but . . . you're not in any trouble, are you? Avoiding someone?"

I lifted my gaze to her for a second. "Zed Benedict," I admitted, purely in the interest of getting her off my case as quickly as possible.

She blinked at me in surprise, obviously unsure why I had anything to do with Zed in the first place. "Oh," she finally managed. "I didn't realise you knew him."

Squirming on the spot, I drummed my fingers on top of the textbook anxiously. "He's Alex's friend," I explained with a shrug.

"So why are you avoiding him?" she asked with a grimace.

"Why do you think?"

Her lips pursed. "Ah. Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you're right to stay away from that boy," she told me, turning away to make herself a cup of coffee. My jaw tightened, but I managed to drop my gaze back to my book without a comment. "I don't know what it is about him. His brothers were never that bad. But Zed Benedict is trouble. Certainly not the kind of boy you need to be getting involved with."

"And I suppose you'd know all about the Benedicts," I found myself snapping irritably, my fists clenching.

Denise blinked, glancing at me in surprise. "I, erm, I didn't mean to offend anyone, I've just heard rumours-"

"Which obviously means it's all true and they're horrible people," I interrupted coldly. Ignoring the astonished look on her face, I slammed my textbook shut and pushed myself to my feet with a glower. "I don't need your opinions on my decisions, Denise, especially when you obviously possess little to no character judgement."

"Now wait a minute," she started with a small frown, finally annoyed at being spoken down to by a teenager. But before she could get far, someone interrupted her.

"Something wrong?"

I went rigid on the spot as Zed pushed the door open, scowling between me and Denise. Like always, he was dressed in dark jeans and his biker jacket, his dark hair messy and tatty. The moment I met his gaze, my mouth went a little drier and my fingers twitched.

"What are you doing here?" I managed after a seconds hesitation.

He glared at me, pushing the door shut behind him. "Looking for you. Cassandra told me you were in here."

"Traitor," I grumbled to myself. "Well you can leave. I'm busy."

"Arguing with the staff?" he guessed, shooting a cool look in Denise's direction. She straightened indignantly, taking a breath to complain.

"Don't you have work to get to?" I asked her insistently. Zed frowned, stepping back and opening the door a fraction to let Denise out. She pursed her lips tightly, obviously annoyed, but she sniffed loudly and let herself out of the staff room, shooting me a pointed look.

"You really are a people person, aren't you?" Zed commented, pushing the door closed again and turning to face me properly. "Here was me thinking I was special."

"Well, I can always be _especially_ rude to you if you prefer," I scowled, stuffing my books back into my bag. He snorted in amusement, his eyes shining as he took a few steps forward. Flinching, I moved back with a glare. "Stop, Zed."

He held his hands out in surrender, but his eyebrows tightened again. "How many times do we have to tell you that you're safe?" he as good as growled. "What more do you want? The man's head on a plate in front of you?"

I shuddered violently, my throat closing up in horror. For a second, my eyes dropped to the ground in my discomfort, and that was all it took for Zed to completely ignore my warning and shift around the table toward me.

"I'm sorry, Grace, I shouldn't have said that," he muttered quietly, reaching out and placing a hand on my arm. I tried to force myself to move away again, but I couldn't. My heart rushed as Zed took a last step toward me, slipping a hand around the far side of my waist and pulling me gently toward him.

I gulped hard, shivering nervously and lifting my hands to push at his shoulders. "Zed . . ."

He didn't let go. Instead, he took my chin in one of his hands and angled my face toward him. "Look at me Grace," he instructed, his voice stern yet quiet. I pursed my lips tightly, telling myself over and over again that I couldn't give in. But I only managed to hold out a few seconds, my skin burning under his touch. My eyes flicked up to meet his and were immediately caught in his intense gaze. "Tell me you want me to leave – you _really_ want me to leave and you're not just being paranoid – and I'll stay away."

Taking a shaky breath, I opened my mouth to tell him exactly that, but the words caught in the back of my throat. His eyebrows relaxed in surprise, like he was expecting me to tell him to get lost, and it took a moment or two for him to snap out of the trance he was in. Lips twitching into a hesitant smile, he moved closer, wrapping both of his arms around my waist and pressing me against his chest.

I gasped quietly, my heart pounding and my breath speeding. Only a minute ago I was swearing to myself that I wasn't going to get caught up in all of this again, and now here I was, stood so close to him that I could feel his breath trailing down the side of my throat. Without thinking, I felt one of my hands, still resting on his shoulders, slid down over his heart, relishing the way it suddenly raced under my touch. Scoffing slightly, he leant closer, lowering his lips to my neck softly.

"God you drive me crazy," he muttered against my skin, and I shuddered helplessly into him.

"You've mentioned," I managed to reply weakly, unaware that my hands were beginning to clutch at his shirt tightly. I felt him smile into my throat, his lips trailing across my jawline. Hesitating for a fraction of a second, his smile widened when he realised I still wasn't pushing him away and he continued to move up to my lips.

His lips had barely even begun to graze mine when a shrill scream cut through the air. Immediately, Zed and I went rigid in each other's arms, and his hold on me tightened protectively. But, when another far too familiar scream rattled through the air, my blood ran cold in fear and I broke out of his hold, darting around him and bolting out of the staff room.

"Grace!" he hissed, scrambling to follow me out onto the stable yard. I barely heard, my eyes quickly finding the source of the panic. Cassandra was stood by the hay bales, her face white and her eyes wide. She had thrown one of her arms out, pushing a terrified Denise back away from the bales silently. Without thinking, I vaulted over the gate and raced toward them.

"Cassandra!" I called sharply. She turned to me, stunned. "What's going on?"

She lifted a shaky finger to point ahead of her as I skidded to a halt right next to her. In the space of a single second, Zed was right beside me, his eyes narrowed as he followed my gaze. A curse slipped his lips the moment we caught sight of it.

Directly opposite us, a girl roughly our age was slumped against the bales of hay, cold and unconscious. Her ragged black hair was only partially braided away from her delicate face, revealing horrible cuts and a nasty bruise over one of her eyes. Her hands looked like they'd been badly burned, and from the marks around her wrists, she'd obviously been restrained at some point. Her clothes – a pair of baggy jeans, a pink hoody and a denim jacket – were in just as bad a state as she was, torn and dirty.

Worst of all, it took me all of three seconds to realise that she was a Savant, and if she was here, at our stables, she was probably here for us.

"Dear God," I breathed, taking a few steps forward.

"Grace," Zed warned, looping a hand around my wrist gently.

I shot him an irritable look, pulling my hand back. "We can't leave her like that, Zed," I scowled at him. "Look at her! She needs a hospital!"

He frowned back, moving forward and lowering his voice so that Cassandra and Denise couldn't hear us. "We have no idea who she is, or why she's here," he pointed out carefully. "I'm not saying we should leave her, but if we take her to the hospital like this, people are going to start asking questions."

"You've got be kidding me," I breathed, snorting in surprise. "What else can we do? She could be dying Zed!"

"And if she's in any danger of that, we'll take her," he promised me. "Right now, we need to get her inside and try and warm her up." I hesitated, scanning his expression cautiously. Sighing, he took out a phone from his pocket and waved it at Cassandra. "Call my brother, Victor, and tell him what's happened," he instructed her. "Tell him to bring Xavier with him."

Cassandra stared, still too shocked to say much. "Cassandra, please," I frowned at her. "She needs help." Slowly, the woman nodded and reached forward to take the phone.

Zed straightened out and moved back toward me, taking my arm gently again as we started toward the girl. My eyes fell on the girl again, troubled. If she was here for us . . . did that mean Matthews had found us? Could it be possible that he was already on his way? Victor had told us we were safe, surely it couldn't have gone so wrong so quickly?

"Hey, we'll be okay," Zed said reassuringly. "Whatever this means, we'll handle it."

I tried not to glower at him for that, but it was difficult to keep my expression straight. He had no idea what he was talking about. He hadn't seen what Matthews was capable of, and yet he and his family thought they could just wish everything away. The world didn't work like that. Man like Matthews ruled because they had no morals, no emotions, no empathy for their victims. Then, people like Victor Benedict thought they could use the law to bring him down. The only problem was, so long as Jacob Matthews was still breathing, while the law might knock him down, nothing was ever going to _keep_ him down.

Zed had bent down to slip his arms beneath the girl's shoulders carefully, and I had forced myself to take her ankles as gently as I could. Cassandra was rushing ahead of us, holding the stable gate open as she spoke rather hurriedly to Victor on the phone. "I don't know why she's here!" she was as good as shrieking. "I just moved a pile of hay and there she was, all bloodied and bruised! . . . Well of course he's here! Who do you think gave me his phone?"

Zed snorted at me under his breath with a roll of his eyes. "She's a delicate soul, that one."

I lifted an eyebrow. "You should see her when there's a sale on in her favourite shoe store."

"Calm down?" Cassandra was saying hysterically down the phone. "How can I calm down when I have a poor, freezing teenage girl dying at my stables?"

I flinched at the word _dying_, receiving a pitiful look from Zed in reply. Ignoring him, I helped him carry her through the door Cassandra had propped open and settle her on the sofa stood to the left hand side. "Your brothers are on their way," she told Zed in a stiff voice, handing him back her phone. "I don't know what the two of you are playing at, and quite frankly, I don't want to. But I am calling an ambulance for that girl in half an hour, do you understand? The poor thing . . ." She grumbled to herself as she turned back to the door, shivering in discomfort. "And warm the poor girl up!" The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Zed and me to stare at each other awkwardly.

Pursing my lips, I turned toward the kitchen area and began rummaging through the cupboards for as many blankets and towels as I could find. "Could you turn that heater on by the sofa?" I risked a glance back to make sure he knew what I meant, watching as he fiddled with the buttons on the heater until it sprang to life. "I hope you have some sort of plan," I frowned, pushing myself back to my feet and draping the blankets over the girl's body.

Zed stood back, leaning against the wall as his eyes followed my actions carefully. "My brother, Xavier, is a healer. Hopefully he'll be able to fix this, or at least tell us how bad the damage is."

I hesitated, scanning the girl's face slowly. "It looks like she's been out there a long time. Zed, I really think she needs a hospital. Now."

"And what do we say when we get there?" he frowned. "Whoever did this to her is going to be looking for her, presuming she escaped and she wasn't sent here to lure us out into the open. Until we know more-"

"If we don't do something quickly, she'll die," I scowled at him. "We can't just leave her like this!"

"Grace, please," he sighed, leaning forward. "Xav will be here soon. If he can't fix it, we'll take her. But promise me you won't do anything rash."

"Rash?" I snorted at him. "I haven't done anything rash since I was six years old. I know how this could go, Zed. A lot better than you do." He didn't say anything, straightening his expression seriously.

By the time Zed's brothers showed up, we'd managed to heat the room up as much as possible and wrapped the girl in several layers of towels and blankets, heating her face with a cloth soaked in warm water. But in the end, there was nothing much we could do for her, and we'd ended up sat on opposite sides of the table in complete silence, waiting impatiently and dreading what was coming next. I didn't want to admit out loud that, despite the circumstances, I was thoroughly relieved Zed was here, for once being able to take comfort in the fact that he was right beside me. Not that I'd ever tell him that. It was hard enough keeping him away.

"So this must be Grace!" Zed's brother beamed inappropriately the moment he stepped through the door. He was almost as tall as Victor already, who had stepped into the room behind him and closed the door quickly. He had a sort of surfer look about him, yet he wasn't as strong as his other brothers, and had much longer legs. And still, after meeting him, Yves, Trace, Victor and Zed, I was certain in my theory that all the Benedicts were heart-breakingly good looking, the sort of guys you'd expect to see with supermodels or blonde actresses.

Zed shuffled with a frown. "Focus, Xav," he grumbled.

His brother held his hands out in surrender. "I'm only being nice! Besides, she looks like she can take care of herself." He winked at me with a small smirk. "Trust you to be matched with a girl that looks like she can scare the Boogey Monster without so much as blinking." I stared in surprise, drumming my fingertips on the table irritably. Xavier just laughed. "See?"

"Are you sure he's qualified for this?" I questioned Victor, ignoring the smirks on the other brothers' faces.

Unlike the other two, Victor was perfectly serious. "I wouldn't have brought him with me otherwise," he promised. "Xavier doesn't have much of a bedside manner, but he's the best healer I know."

Xav sniffed delicately. "First time he gives me praise and he's talking to someone else," he mumbled sourly as he knelt down beside the girl on the sofa. "What's a guy gotta down to get some respect around here?"

"Keep quiet," Zed and I answered in unison, and I tried not to look as awkward as I felt. Xav snorted at the two of us, but Zed winked with a small smile.

_Told you we belonged together,_ he said to me telepathically, and I could feel his surprise that I'd let him inside.

_I don't ever remember arguing that point,_ I replied sourly. _That was never the problem._

"Can you do anything for her, Xav?" Victor called forward as Zed's smile disappeared. "Cassandra is still hovering outside. We're going to have to take her to the hospital if we can't get her up soon."

"I can't see how deep these burns are," he muttered. "The cuts and bruises aren't bad, but there's no way of knowing how long she was out in the cold. Her heart rate is quite strong, which is a good sign, but short of trying to get rid of some of these marks, I can't really do much. If you take her to the hospital, they'll hook her up to a drip to get her some liquids and food, pump her full of painkillers, wrap her up warm and hope for the best."

I squirmed uncomfortably, refraining from shooting Zed an irritable look. "We'll have to get her up there," Victor sighed. "I'll get Trace over to question anyone who could have seen anything. Grace, do you have any security cameras here?"

I nodded. "None of them point toward the hay bales though."

"I'd like to look at them anyway," he told me. "Just in case. Xav, could you phone for ambulance?"

"Sure," Xav muttered back distractedly, moving over each of the girl's wounds with a pained expression.

"I'll do it," Zed offered, watching Xav with a small frown. Victor nodded at him, and the two brothers had only just moved to let themselves out when the girl stirred groggily. I went rigid on the spot, my eyes fixed on her expression fiercely. I had no idea if she was a threat or not, but I wasn't taking any chances. Beaten and bruised or not, if she tried to attack anyone in this room . . .

The girl's cracked lips parted a fraction, and she managed to draw a ragged breath before wincing sharply. "Hello?" Xav said, his voice loud and clear. "Can you hear me?"

She flinched away from his voice, but reluctantly took another breath, her lips moving soundlessly. I felt myself lean forward, my heart speeding slightly in anticipation as I strained to hear what she was saying.

Finally . . . "M-Matthews," she choked, and I stiffened, fear shooting through me so fast I barely noticed Zed move to my side in the same second. But the moment his hand fell on my shoulder gently, I snapped back to reality. Somehow, this girl found us, and I needed to know how, why, and who she'd told.

Ignoring Xav's stunned look in my direction, I pushed myself to my feet. "Whoa, what do you think you're doing?" Zed scowled, reaching to pull me back, but I yanked my arm away with a glower.

"Finding out who she is," I replied sourly.

"You shouldn't be anywhere near her," he retorted coolly, and I was only mildly aware of the strange looks the other Benedict brothers were exchanging behind my back.

"It's not like she could do anything if she wanted to," I dismissed, stepping away from him before he could pull me back again.

His jaw locked. "I don't want you near her."

My eyes narrowed dangerously in reply. "Then it's a bloody good job I didn't ask permission." Without waiting for an answer, I spun around and perched myself on the edge of the sofa beside the girl. Zed flinched forward, but Victor caught his arms with a stern look.

"Just be careful, Gracie," Xav winced beside me, and I lifted an eyebrow at the sound of my brother's nickname for me. He barely noticed. "She's still delicate."

I refrained from snorting at him. "Trust me, I know." In the background, Zed winced sharply, but I ignored him, turning to focus my attention on the girl. She didn't look like she was in any state to talk anymore, so I reluctantly let the barriers around my mind drop just low enough for me to break into hers, searching her mental patterns as gently as I could. She was coming around, awake enough that she could feel my presence in her mind and was already beginning to panic.

_It's alright,_ I assured her. _I'm not going to hurt you. My name's Grace. We found you at my stables, do you remember coming here?_

Still searching her mind, I felt her relax, just a fraction, and her head nodded an inch. "Grace, what are you doing?" Zed's impatient voice came from behind me.

"Making sure she isn't dangerous," I answered quietly without looking at him. Figuring I should start at the beginning, I turned my attention back to the girl with a deep breath. _What's your name?_ The girl's mind wavered in indecision. _I won't hurt you, I promise. You're safe here._

She relented. _Thea Dranias._

_You're from Greece?_ I guessed, ignoring the Benedicts as they began to squirm impatiently.

_Originally,_ she answered weakly. _Before my parents died in a car crash._

Drawing on my very few social skills, I shifted awkwardly. "What?" Zed immediately rushed. "Are you alright?"

Pulling back out of Thea's mind, I shot him a withering look. "I'm fine, Zed," I sighed. "I'm only talking to her. She says her name is Thea Dranias. She's originally from Greece, before her parents died in a car crash."

"I'll clarify that," Victor instantly told me.

Xav coughed. "Well, all this is very cosy, but it doesn't tell us what she was doing here in the first place." He raised his eyebrows at me.

Trying not to get irritated at him, I turned back to Thea. _I'm sorry to hear about your parents,_ I told her. _Where did you go after that?_

Her indecision was back, only this time it worked against me very quickly. Strong enough to protect her mind once more, she threw up barriers around her thoughts sharply, and I pulled back in surprise, wincing when a shooting pain rushed through my mind. Zed and Xav exchanged anxious looks, but I was determined that I wasn't going to mess this up, not now so many people were involved. Figuring she was weak enough to crumble under a well-placed attack, I forced my way back into her thoughts, ignoring the sharp intake of breath that made Xav start to pull me back.

_Thea, I'm not trying to hurt you, but I have to know why you're here,_ I persisted, pushing Xav back with a scowl. _You muttered a name just now when you started to come to. Matthews. Do you know who that is?_

She didn't answer, still struggling to fight and push me out.

_Thea, you're hurting yourself, _I found myself snapping at her. _Stop it and answer the question. Do you know who Matthews is?_

_ Why would you care?_ she spat back.

Rummaging through her mind hurriedly, I tried to determine as quickly as possible whether or not I could trust her, hating the way I could still feel her fighting back despite the pain it caused her. _Matthews is a very dangerous man,_ I finally answered. _If he's found us, we could all be in serious trouble and I cannot allow him to hurt the people I care about. Please, answer the question._

Again, she hesitated, then give up the fight with a heavy sigh and a wince. _I didn't escape from Matthews,_ she told me honestly. _It's just the name I heard when they were talking about who they worked for._

My chest tightened, but I felt myself sigh in relief, glancing sideways at Zed. He lifted an eyebrow at me, but the corners of his lips tugged slightly. Turning away from him again, I forced myself to focus back on Thea's thoughts. _Who are they? The people who were you with?_

_A Savant family. A bad Savant family. I'm not sure where exactly I was, but I think it was Las Vegas. They kept me in a casino. I don't know what it was called. There's one of them that can . . . he can break into your mind, mess with your memories._ She broke off, wincing again, and my lips pursed.

_He was looking for something specific?_

_ Yes. But I can't remember what. When I try-_

She broke off with a loud yelp and a shot of pain bolted through my mind as images flickered in front of me, none of them clear enough to make out much more than blurry colours. The Benedicts flinched forward when I automatically leapt back with gritted teeth. "That's it," Zed frowned, stepping around Xavier. "The rest can wait until she wakes up."

"No, Zed, it can't," I scowled back. His jaw locked. "I'm fine, honest!"

"Then what was that all about?" he snapped back.

My fists were clenching irritably at my sides, but I forced myself to calm down while we were in front of his brothers. "She remembers being held by a Savant family, but she can't remember any of their names. Apparently, one of them can alter memories. Just being in her head, I can tell she's having difficulty remembering what's real and what isn't."

The Benedicts stared at me for a moment, shuffling awkwardly. "What?" I frowned. "Do you know who did this to her?"

Zed moved closer, and I was that distracted I didn't even noticed him wrapping an arm around my waist carefully as Xav and Victor exchanged a strange look. "Possibly," Victor frowned. "Does she say anything about where they were keeping her?"

"Las Vegas."

Zed's grip tightened, Xav cursed under his breath, and Victor's eyebrows tightened so deeply I almost couldn't see his eyes. "Am I missing something?" I frowned. "What's going on? Who's in Vegas?"

Victor shot Zed a stern look as he opened his mouth to answer, and my soulfinder glowered at his brother. "It's a long story, Grace," he muttered at me. "One Victor will gladly tell you when we've dealt with Thea, right Vick?"

"Of course," Victor answered immediately, and a fraction of Zed's anger disappeared. "Right now I want to know how she knew to find us here. Do you think you can get her to talk again, Grace? She seems to trust you."

Of course she trusted me. She was possibly the only person I'd allowed to have this much access to my thoughts for a very long time. She probably knew just as much about me as I knew about her, and it scared me slightly. But I didn't say that out loud. I wasn't sure Zed would appreciate knowing that I'd trusted a complete stranger more than I had him. Instead, I nodded once and lowered myself back down beside Thea, taking her hand in mine once more and scanning through her thought patterns again. She'd picked up odd words of our conversation, and registered the fact I wasn't alone.

_Relax, Thea, _I insisted softly. _No one here is going to hurt you._

_The men you're with . . ._

_They won't hurt you,_ I repeated._ They're here to help. They only want to make sure we're all safe here. Can you remember why they had you Las Vegas in the first place? Why they were they interested in you in particular?_

_ I'm not sure,_ she answered slowly. _I remember the day they took me out of a small café in Edinburgh, in Scotland. I know I was looking for someone, but I can't remember who I just know it was important. The next time I remember is being in the casino. They kept telling me that I'd found him, that I was helping him . . ._

I hesitated a moment, ignoring the increase in my heart rate. She'd been in Edinburgh, and now here? I bit down on my lip. _Found who, Thea? Who did you find?_

_I – I don't know his name,_ she answered, obviously pained. I could tell that whoever she was talking about meant a great deal to her, and the connection she was fumbling to remember seemed oddly familiar, yet wrong and alien to me. _They kept telling me that he was important, that I needed to help him and that I could find him because I was special._

_ Special in what way?_

_ They said . . . they said I was a soulseeker. That I could find anyone I wanted to._

I felt my face fall and I pulled myself out of her mind in the same second, throwing up as many barriers as I could. Opposite me, Xav frowned. "Hey, Gracie, you look like you've seen a ghost," he said, leaning closer in concern.

"What's wrong?" Zed asked, and my heart seized.

"She says she was taken out of Edinburgh by the Savant family," I muttered, feeling oddly detached from my voice. "It sounds like they had help from Matthews to get her out."

Victor scowled. "If she was taken straight to Vegas, then they couldn't have known back then where we were. Did she say anything else?"

I felt my throat close up, my lips pursed tightly. "Hey, Grace, it's alright," Zed insisted beside me, pulling me closer. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it. Matthews is out of the loop here, remember?"

I glanced at him nervously. "She's a soulseeker, Zed," I mumbled, and the Benedicts went rigid. "They're trying to use her to track our movements."

There was a moments stunned silence, where Victor scowled at nothing in particular, Zed tightened his hands around mine, and Xav gawped at Thea like she was from another planet.

"That's impossible," Victor finally managed to reply. "For a soulseeker to find someone else, they have to be able to break into that person's soulfinders mind. Say she was looking for you, Grace. To find you, she'd have to break into Zed's mind first. She can't possibly just find someone on a whim."

"She found us," I pointed out weakly. "However she did it, she's here."

They all fell silent again, obviously as disturbed as I was. But before any of them could collect their thoughts to answer me, Thea lifted a weak hand to clamp around my wrist. Immediately, Zed made to push her away, but I held him back, cautiously allowing her enough access to my mind to communicate with her.

_You're scared,_ she said, apparently upset. _You think I told them where you are._

_ You didn't?_

_ No, _ she replied, and though I knew she was being honest, I could tell she'd been less than impressed by her decision. Something was wrong with her mental patterns, something about this particular thought, like she was having difficulty figuring out what was real and what was fake. I knew this must have been one of the memories the Savant had tampered with.

_Something about that place felt wrong, _Thea told me forcefully, like it was painful to talk about_. They told me that I was a soulseeker, and that if I wanted to, I could find my soulfinder. They said he was in danger, and I had to help, and I wanted to. I still do. But something felt . . . not quite right. I had to be sure of what was real before I tried to help him. I tried to run away before, but they caught me and punished me. I just kept trying until I managed it. I knew I had to find him and figure out what was wrong. I know he's here. He's close._

I stared at her for a long moment, and an impossible thought began to creep into the back of my mind. Dreams about blurry lights, a girl running from men trying to hurt her, she even matched the description . . . _How old are you?_ I asked slowly. _When is your birthday?_

_I'm seventeen. My birthday is the seventh of September._

My jaw dropped. Beside me, Zed's grip tightened. "Grace?"

"I can't believe it," I breathed in shock. "Zed, I think she's Alex's soulfinder."


	11. Chapter 10: Grace

"What do you mean I can't see her?" Alex glared. "Zed, I swear to God . . . I want to talk to my sister. Move out of the way."

I peered out of the blinds cautiously, watching Zed try and fail to calm my brother down outside Thea's hospital room. No one had yet told him that we suspected Thea to be his soulfinder. If he walked in here and saw her in this state, he'd kill someone, I was sure of it. But I knew we couldn't keep it from him for much longer, it wasn't fair. If Thea had been in Edinburgh, then she'd been tracking us for well over three months now, which meant she'd spent a fair amount of time at the mercy of a criminal Savant family, something I could empathise with.

Still, Xav and I hadn't left her side since we'd brought her to the hospital, and she seemed comforted enough by my continued presence in her mind. Though I lacked social skills, she had enough access to my own mind to understand I meant her no harm, and after what she'd been though, I imagined that alone must be a welcome relief.

I'd asked her every question Victor had put forward, and she'd answered as honestly as she could, fighting through the muddle of her inaccurate thoughts and memories to try and find something real. Afterwards, Victor had looked pleased enough, leaving me with Thea, Zed and Xav while he attempted to work out our next step.

"You reckon we should let him in now?" Xav grimaced at me, pointing outside.

I pursed my lips. "He's going to go mad. Look at her, Xavier. If he doesn't try to find the man who did this to her, it will be a miracle."

He hesitated, scanning Thea's injuries carefully. "What if you warned her that Alex was here?" he asked me quietly. "Maybe she can convince him that she needs him here, not chasing bad guys."

I stared at him for a second. "You're a romantic at heart, aren't you?"

He faked a blush. "I try my best, Miss Peterson."

Shooting him a withering look, I turned back to Thea. _Thea, can you hear me?_

She shifted slightly with a wince, surfacing from the light sleep she'd slipped into. _Grace? Is something wrong?_

_No,_ I assured her quickly. _But . . . well, my friends and I think you might have been right about your soulfinder being here. We'd like to introduce you to him._

Shock resonated from every corner of her mind, and it took a moment or two for her to collect herself. I didn't blame her. I knew how she felt. _Not yet,_ she muttered, almost pleadingly. _Please, don't let him see me until I can wake up enough to see him too._

My lips pursed in disappointment, but I could understand where she was coming from. _Of course not. I'll keep him away._

_ He'll listen to you?_ I thought I heard a spike of jealousy in her voice.

I felt my eyes roll. _Yes. He's my brother._

_Oh._ It satisfied her curiosity, and I was mildly surprised to notice she liked the idea of me being related to her soulfinder. She trusted me, much more than most people did after knowing me for all of an hour.

"So?" Xav asked when I looked back up at him. Shaking my head, I pushed myself out of the seat and slipped to the door, opening it just wide enough to step outside.

"Grace," Alex sighed in relief, ignoring Zed the moment he caught sight of me. Zed looked just as relieved himself, hovering between pity and irritation as he stepped back to guard the door. "Grace, what's going on? I tell you that you can spend time with your soulfinder and now you're both ganging up on me?"

I scowled at him, jabbing Zed in the side to stop him snapping. "For your information, I am not spending time with Zed simply because you said I could, I . . . didn't really get much of a say in the matter." I shot Zed an irritable look, but he only smirked back at me. "And secondly . . . I can't tell you what's going on."

Alex blinked. "Why not?"

"She asked me not to."

"Who's she?" he snorted, lifting an eyebrow. "Seriously, Gracie, you're freaking me out."

I hesitated, glancing sideways at Zed for support. He just shrugged silently. "If I tell you, do you promise to trust me?" I sighed, fixing my eyes on my brother's.

"I promise," he nodded without a seconds hesitation.

Zed scoffed quietly beside me. "You're going to regret agreeing to that so quickly, mate."

"You are not helping," I scowled at him. "Could you go and find a coffee machine or something?"

_I really annoy you don't I? _he asked mentally with a smirk.

"Out of my sight Zed, seriously," I groaned, ignoring Alex's surprised look as Zed laughed lightly, squeezing my hand once before turning away and striding down the corridor. Distracted, I watched him go for a moment, wondering vaguely if I was doing the right thing by letting him and the Benedicts into our lives.

"Grace!" Alex exclaimed, snapping his fingers in front of my face. "I know you're all loved up at the moment, but can you focus please?"

I shot him a withering look. "I am not loved up," I grumbled, pushing him roughly toward the seats on the other side of the corridor. "Alex, there's a lot for me to tell you, and some of it I'm not even aware of yet. Victor seems to have found Matthews' mole over here, and from what I can tell, the Benedicts have had dealings with them before. They wouldn't tell me exactly what, not until they've made sure we're still safe here."

My brother scowled, obviously annoyed that we'd kept him out of the loop for this long. "How is it exactly you found the mole already?"

I shifted uncomfortably, glancing sideways at the door to Thea's hospital room. "That's the hard part," I warned him quietly. "Cassandra found a girl at the stables. She . . . she's in pretty bad shape at the moment, but one of Zed's brothers, Xavier, healed her as best as he could and the doctors here seem to think she'll wake up sometime soon. But she was already starting to come around while she was at the stables, enough that one of us could communicate with her internally."

He straightened in shock, shifting into a defensive stance. "She's a Savant?"

Gulping, I nodded once, not quite meeting his gaze. "Yes. She was abducted a few months back by the family Matthews is using over here. They seemed to think that she could help them locate us."

"Why would they think that?"

Taking a sharp, deep breath, I figured it was best to get it over with as quickly as possible. "She's a soulseeker, Alex." His face dropped. "She was born three days after we were, and I'm almost ninety per cent sure she's the girl you've been seeing in your dreams lately. She seems pretty confident you're her soulfinder."

I didn't like the look of the rush of emotions racing across Alex's face. Vaguely remembering that lack of thought that Zed and I had experienced the first time we met each other, I made to get to my feet to stand between Alex and Thea's door, but he beat me to it, bolting forward before I could even blink and shouldering the door open.

"Alex!" I hissed, grinding my teeth together. Without pausing to think, I scrambled to my feet, forcing past the barriers to his mind like they were made of water. A flash of pain rushed through the back of my head, but I persevered and suddenly, time around us seemed to stop and the world became blurry and out of focus. Ignoring the pain, I reached for the right mental patterns in Alex's mind and forced him backward, watching him slowly reverse his movements like I'd pressed rewind on his life.

The moment he was back stood in front of his chair, I leapt up in front of him. "Sit back down," I frowned at him as I released my grip.

"Stop it, Grace," he warned me in a snarl. "Get out of my way."

I could feel him reaching for my ability, trying to find a way to break down my defences, but I reinforced them as much as I could. "She doesn't want you to see her yet, Alex," I snapped back at him, a dull pain beginning to grow behind my eyes. "Alex, stop it! Get out of my head!"

"What's going on?" Zed's concerned voice came as he strode toward us carrying two cups of coffee.

"Is this why he's here?" Alex glared at me furiously. "You think because you had to stay away from him for so long, I shouldn't be allowed near her?"

"No!" I exclaimed in surprise as Zed's face dropped. "Alex, I'd never do that to you, you know that! But think about it, the only way to communicate with her is telepathically. She can't even open her eyes!"

"I don't care!" he shouted back at me, and a few nurses down the corridor started frowning down toward us.

"Well she does!" I insisted. "Is it so hard to understand that she might not want you to see her like that, especially when she can't even open her eyes to see you?"

Alex hesitated, still scowling. Beside me, Zed seemed torn between getting between us or leaving it for us to sort out ourselves. "Take a walk," he finally sighed quietly at him, handing me a coffee and pointing down the hall. "Coffee's that way."

"You think I should just leave her?" he scoffed sourly at him. "You realise how ironic this all is, coming from you two, right?"

I flinched, but Zed barely acknowledged him. "Where do you think she's going to go, Alex?" he asked casually. "The moment she wakes up, she's going to want you here. She came looking for you, she's here to help you. Go and get a coffee, get some sleep, whatever you have to do. As soon as she wakes up, we'll tell you."

He stared at the two of us for another second, obviously deeply torn. "We won't leave her alone, Alex," I assured him. "She'll be fine, I promise."

Glowering slightly, he locked his jaw. "I want to know the moment she wakes up." His eyes flicked toward Zed. "And you had better watch out for her," he added, jabbing a finger irritably in my direction.

"Always," he frowned, nodding seriously. Shooting me one last pained look, Alex turned on his heel and walked away, his shoulders hunched. "He isn't going to take this well, Grace." I flicked my eyes toward him with pursed lips. Now that it was just me and Zed, I could see what Alex meant. This was horribly ironic. Now sure that fate was playing a never-ending, cruel trick on my brother and I, I sighed heavily and slumped into the chair I'd just vacated. "Are you alright?"

"No."

Zed hesitated, then moved to sit beside me slowly. "He'll be fine the moment Thea wakes up, I'm sure of it."

I glanced at him, my lips twitching as I realised he'd already searched the future as much as he could. "That's not what I'm worried about," I admitted quietly. He shuffled, but didn't say anything. "Tell me you're sure all of this is going to work?"

"We're never entirely sure, Grace," he muttered in concern. I frowned at my feet, trying desperately not to overthink everything again. As though he knew what was coming, Zed shifted a little closer and sighed heavily. "Look, I know you're thinking that all of this – finding the mole and making the US safe for you – I know you think it's all too good to be true."

I risked a glance sideways at him, saying nothing. He was right, of course. Ever since the Benedicts had visited us, I'd been trying not to get my hopes up. I'd been down that road before, believed people when they said they could help me, only to be let down in the end. I couldn't afford mistakes like that, not where Zed was concerned.

But his expression had set. "Realising I couldn't have you unless I was willing to give up my entire family was the hardest thing I've ever had to do," he muttered and I flinched away from him. "It took me ages to get it straight in my head, and I started to resent my family for being one of my only weaknesses." My eyes flicked toward him worriedly. Honestly, I knew the feeling. If it wasn't for Alex and the Benedicts, I'd have long since latched my hand through Zed's and run until I thought it was safe. "And now, Victor's telling me that in a week, maybe less, I can have it all, and after everything he told me about Matthews, I almost can't believe it could be that easy."

"Easy?" I found myself scoffing at him darkly. "If he's using another Savant family to find us, then as far as they're concerned, it's either us or them because Matthews doesn't take failure well. They won't take this _easy_."

Zed nodded seriously. "We know that. We're used to it, Grace. It isn't that that worries me."

I blinked. "What?"

He pursed his lips, his eyes locked on mine. "I'm worried that you're never going to believe it's over. That no matter how safe we can make you, or no matter how far out of Matthews' reach you are, you'll always be expecting the worst, never wanting anyone close to you in case they get hurt. I'm worried that, even when I finally have you in my arms, you'll always want to be a hundred miles away."

My heart had stopped, my mouth had run dry, and my hands had tightened so hard around the edges of my chair I couldn't feel my fingertips. I hadn't expected him to be so honest about my obvious flaws, though quite frankly, I hadn't ever considered my lack of social skills to be a problem for my soulfinder. Didn't he realise that he was the only exception to every rule I'd ever kept to when I met new people?

I eyed the serious, determined expression on his face, and I knew he wasn't just going to let me talk my way out of all of this again. His brother had given him enough for him to hope that we were safe, and he wasn't going to let me walk away. "You've heard what my father is capable of," I told him, shuddering as he wrapped a hand around mine possessively. "Do you really think he won't find us?"

Zed sighed, tracing circles with his thumb on the back of my hand. "This is bigger than us now, Grace," he reminded me. "The entire Savant Net is dedicating as much of its resources to keeping Matthews in the UK as it can. He already has influence in Europe, but we _know_ that he has only just reached out over here. Victor has already set up safety protocols, and if he's confident that taking this one family down will eliminate Matthews' hold over here, then I trust him."

I hesitated. "And you realise that this is all likely to go horribly wrong?"

"Ever the optimist," he sighed with a wry, sadden smile. "We aren't fighting Matthews here, Grace. We fighting an enemy we're familiar with, and one we've already had dealings with. We know what we're getting into. Trust me. Please."

His eyes had locked onto mine with that intense gaze he got when the conversation turned serious, the one that froze me on the spot and made me absolutely sure that I was safe with him. Mouth too dry to speak, I nodded slowly, holding my breath as he leaned closer. But before he could kiss me, for the first time since our first meeting outside the police station, someone cleared their throat pointedly.

I straightened awkwardly, peering around Zed to see Xav leaning around the doorway. "She's mumbling again," he told me. "She's asking for you."

Grimacing once in Zed's direction, I pushed myself to my feet to move back to Thea's side. If Thea wanted me here, then I'd stay. Alex had spent hours talking Zed down over the past month or so, and Zed had had Yves keep an annoyingly close eye on me. Now it was our turn to repay at least one favour. "Zed," I started slowly, hesitating in the doorway.

He scowled at me, already knowing I was about to ask him to leave. "He told me to look out for you, Grace."

"And I'm fine here," I persisted. "Victor has already doubled security around here, and I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. I just don't want him to do something stupid."

He hesitated, glancing back at Xav pleadingly. His brother sighed heavily. "I'll go," he groaned. "I've done everything I can here anyway." Putting his face straight for a moment, he grimaced at me and patted my shoulder. "I'll make sure he behaves himself, Gracie. Zed, let me know when she wakes up and I'll get him back here as fast as I can."

"Thanks, Xav," Zed nodded, standing up to follow me into Thea's room.

"You don't need to watch over me twenty four hours a day, Zed," I sighed, aware from the glint in his eyes that he knew I wanted him here just as much as he wanted to stay. "I can take care of myself, I've been doing it long enough."

"Exactly," he shrugged, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my forehead softly. "You've been doing it for far too long. Now it's my turn to look after you." I pulled a face, ignoring the nervous butterflies in my stomach and moving to Thea's side.

Zed and I spent hours by Thea's side, and after a few minutes convincing her that Zed was trustworthy – and complaining at her that he wouldn't stop moaning that I was trying to have two conversations, one of which he couldn't hear – Thea eventually let Zed into her thoughts. That meant that I had to shut off some parts of my own mind, the parts I didn't want Zed to know Thea had already had access to, but luckily, Thea didn't mention it.

It took almost twenty-four hours for Thea to wake up. In that time, the Benedicts had drifted in and out of the room, and I had answered as many questions as I could to Trace and Victor, convinced Yves to cover for me with Louisa and the others, and navigated a severely disturbing meeting with Zed's parents. They were the only Benedicts I had been worried about meeting. Suspicious brothers, I could handle. But over-caring and protective parents weren't something I had ever had to worry about.

"You're falling asleep," Zed chuckled quietly at me. I blinked a few more times than necessary to wake myself up slightly as he slumped back into the chair beside me, pulling me back into his side as he passed me another cup of coffee. "Sorry about this, but you're going to want to drink that."

I yawned, frowning at him. "Why?"

"My parents are on their way up."

His expression shifted when he noticed me go completely still, staring at him with a blank face. "They won't be so bad," Zed rushed, tightening his arms around me. "I've told them to go easy on you, but they are a bit . . ."

"Like parents," I finished for him quietly. "It's fine, Zed. Honest." He didn't look reassured.

By the time the Benedicts had made it up to the hospital room, I'd scolded the inside of my mouth gulping down the hot coffee and told Zed a thousand times or more than I was okay. He refused to let up any of the hold he had on me, despite the fact that it was the first time I'd ever wanted him to let go. Being caught by his parents this close to their son didn't seem like a good first impression to me, especially since my insistence that we kept away from each other this last month hadn't exactly been easy on the Benedicts.

But the Benedicts barely blinked. Instead, the moment they walked into the room, the only thing they were concerned about was making sure everyone was okay. "Oh, we just got back!" Karla Benedict breathed, hauling Zed to his feet to wrap him in a tight hug. "When Victor told us you were at the hospital Zed, I thought you'd done something silly again!"

Zed shifted, and I was thoroughly relieved he looked as awkward as I felt. "I'm fine, Mom," he insisted. "But Alex made Grace promise to stay . . ."

Karla's attention was immediately on me. While her husband, Saul, was a strong, tall man with work worn hands and a calm, neutral expression, Karla was quite small, with dark hair and large dark eyes that shone with emotion. Just meeting her gaze made me slightly dizzy, as though the rush of emotion was enough to send me nauseous.

"Mom," Zed warned quietly, shuffling in front of me a fraction.

Karla ignored him, stepping around him to take my hand and pull me to my feet with surprising strength. I took a breath to complain, but without a single word, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Inexplicable fear made me shiver, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise, my heart clenching tightly.

"Karla, honey," Saul winced through his teeth, dropping a hand onto her shoulder.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you," Karla beamed at me as she pulled back, ignoring Saul and barely registering Zed's scowl. "We've heard so much about you. Such an awful childhood, I'm so sorry-"

"Mom!" Zed complained. My stomach was threatening to bring my coffee back up again, and my skin was shivering furiously.

"I'm sorry, Zed, you know I can't help it," she frowned, waving him away. "The poor girl has seen so much trouble . . ."

"Yeah well, not anymore," he scowled, slipping his hand into mine tightly. I didn't say anything, subconsciously shifting closer to him and swallowing as much fear as I could. It troubled me that of all of the things that got to me most it was the obvious close bond that the Benedicts shared.

"Of course not," Saul agreed, his expression still neutral. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Grace. I'd say welcome to the family . . ." He shot his wife an exasperated look, but I just grimaced tightly at the two of them, unsure of what I was supposed to say. Talking with Zed's brothers was much easier than this. As though he understood what I was feeling, Saul hurriedly changed the subject, his eyes flicking sideways to his son. "Victor didn't have time to tell us much. Is everyone okay?"

Zed nodded, his stance relaxing a fraction. When mine didn't, he began tracing his thumb over the back of my hand again. "The woman Grace and Alex lives with, Cassandra, found Thea behind the hay bales at the stables. Xav's already healed most of the superficial stuff, we're just waiting for her to come around now."

"Do we know how she found us yet?" Saul frowned, his eyes lingering suspiciously over Thea.

Feeling oddly protective, I felt my back straighten out a fraction. "She's a soulseeker," I told him, finally finding my voice. Saul blinked at me in shock, and Karla gave a small gasp of surprise, her eyes shining. "We think she's Alex's soulfinder, but we can't be sure until she wakes up. It sounds like she managed to track the two of us while we were in Edinburgh, but Matthews must have realised what she was doing and decided to use her against us."

"Vick's pretty sure the news of her escape or her finding Alex hasn't reached Matthews, and that it can't, but he's double-checking," Zed continued.

"Where did she escape from?" Karla breathed, her eyes wide in concern as she scanned Thea's face.

Zed's expression darkened. "Vegas."

His parents started, staring at him with a mixture of horror and amazement. My eyebrows tightened again, and I wanted so badly to demand answers then and there. But at that moment, Thea spluttered beside me.

My hand clenched around Zed's tightly, refusing to let go as I shifted closer to Thea's bed, my lips pursed and my mind reeling. "Thea?" I called carefully. In the background, Saul muttered something to Karla about finding a nurse, turning and slipping out of the room. "Thea, can you hear me?"

I watched as her delicate eyelids fluttered, revealing sharp, crystal grey eyes. "G-Grace?" she stammered, her voice hoarse and sore. "W-Where am I?"

Taking a breath, I flicked my eyes back to Zed for support. He grimaced and dipped his phone into his pocket, holding it out for me to take. "I think you should call Alex now."


	12. Chapter 11: Grace

"They've been alone in there for hours," I muttered anxiously, my eyes on the hospital room door.

Zed sighed heavily, his arm tightening around my shoulders as he turned me so that I could rest my head on his shoulders. "Then it's safe to say we were right, Thea is Alex's soulfinder, and we should leave them to talk."

Across the waiting room, Xav snorted sourly. "No kidding. You realise how hard it is keeping that idiot out of trouble?"

I shot him a withering look. "After seventeen years, I really needed you to help me figure that out."

"Ouch," Xav winced, smirking at me as Zed and Yves laughed at him. "Your soulfinder's a piece of work, Zed."

"She's got you figured out," Yves shrugged at him, ducking to avoid the rolled up magazine Xav used to hit out at him.

"Boys," Karla complained from the corner of the room. "Please, we're in public! Behave yourselves!"

I cast an uncertain look in her direction, thankful that her attention wasn't still on me. The Benedicts completely dominated the waiting room we were sat in, which thankfully was empty of other people. Saul and Karla were sat in the nearest corner, not saying much but taking comfort in each other's company. On the opposite side of the room, Yves and Xav were lounged out over several chairs, flicking casually through the magazines with no real interest. Beside me, Zed had one arm around me while he drummed the fingertips of his free hand against his leg. Despite the fact that he and I had been here since we'd brought Thea in, almost thirty six hours ago, he refused to leave my side to go home to sleep. I wanted to argue with him and tell him I'd be fine, but with all the other Benedicts drifting in and out of here, I wasn't sure I would be. It was selfish, but I wanted him with me, not flat out somewhere snoring.

Unfortunately, there were some things I had to handle alone. Like Victor, for instance. After we'd been waiting for Alex to make an appearance for almost three hours, Victor appeared in the waiting room. He looked as tired as I felt, but still held his stern frown in check as Karla immediately started to fuss.

"Victor, you look awful!" she scolded.

"Breaking news," Xav muttered sarcastically.

"I need a word with Grace," he assured Karla, ignoring Xav's comment and settling his eyes on me. "If Zed can bear to part with her for ten minutes?"

Zed snorted, reluctantly unwinding his arm from around my shoulders to let me get to my feet. "So long as it's only ten minutes," he grumbled with a small shrug. Victor lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing and held the door open for me.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the waiting room opposite Thea's hospital room and allowed him to lead me into a small, unoccupied room a few paces down the hall. A shudder ran down my spine at the thought of being enclosed in a cold, dark room, and when Victor flicked the light switch, it only made me feel a fraction warmer. Forgetting the fact that I'd only just left him, I found myself wishing I was still wrapped in Zed's arms.

Victor took a deep breath, drawing himself up to his full height and eyeing my expression curiously. "Zed asked me if I could speak to you," he told me carefully. "He says you're worried about whether or not we can pull this off."

"You don't know Matthews like I do," I muttered at him with a scowl that was beginning to feel like a permanent fixture in my features.

"I'm well aware of that," he nodded sternly. "But the entire Net is in on this now."

"And you don't think there's even a remote chance of a leak?" He seemed mildly amused by my question, like he hadn't expected me to think things through so thoroughly. I felt a spike of irritation at that. "I've done nothing but think all this over since the day I found out Zed was my soulfinder, Victor. I can't stop thinking about it! Your family is involved, and it's my fault!"

"No," he interrupted sharply. "As much as I don't like the idea of Zed being dragged into this, it isn't your fault, Grace. Now I can't even begin to imagine how they have weeded out the links, but blocking off the border is a different operation now, and the Redfields are more than capable of handling it. They've been fending Matthews off for longer than you and Zed have been alive, and by now, they've worked out how to determine who to trust and who not to trust. If they say the borders are safe, they're safe. They wouldn't make a promise like that unless they could keep it."

I felt a portion of my worry ease, and I shifted slightly under Victor's gaze. "I'm starting to like the sound of the Redfields."

"You're not the only one to think that," he assured me. "They're a godsend to the Net at the moment. I don't envy them, mind. Their lives are more hectic than ours." He took another breath and leant against the doorframe, folding his arms across his chest. "Right now, our only problem is the Kellys."

I hesitated, watching him carefully for a moment. "Is that the family Matthews hired?"

Victor frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure hired is the right word, but they're certainly the ones working with him, yes."

"And you all know them?"

"In a manner of speaking. Grace, my family are in witness protection at the moment." I felt my eyes widen a fraction. "We were responsible for putting a few members of the Kelly family behind bars, and if my family can't testify, they won't be prosecuted."

"So they're trying to kill you?" I grimaced.

"Basically," he sighed heavily. "But now we know they're involved with Matthews as well, we've been given the all-clear to set up an operation to take them down. I don't know how long that will take. Right now, the priority is to make sure Thea wasn't followed here and that they can't trace her movements. She'll need somewhere safe to stay."

"With us," I replied immediately. Victor lifted an eyebrow. "She's Alex's soulfinder, and she's alone. She stays with us."

"Okay," he nodded. "If you're sure. I'm positive Zed will keep an eye out for the three of you."

"No doubt," I agreed with a heavy sigh.

Victor grimaced. "We'll keep you safe as best as possible, but you'll all need to be vigilant. If you're even a little suspicious, tell someone."

"Vigilance is something I do quite well," I shrugged wryly. "I'll be careful." He nodded once, pulling the door open again and waving me through.

Back in the waiting room, Xav and Yves were still arguing about something I couldn't quite make out, Karla was lecturing Zed about his health, and Saul was trying his best to get his wife to calm down. But the second she saw me, she only decided to argue harder.

"Right, that's it," she declared abruptly, pointing at me with a stern expression. I came to a halt in the doorway beside Victor, blinking in surprise. "Zed, take her home."

"Mom," Zed sighed.

"No, Zed, I wasn't asking," Karla frowned. "The two of you have been awake for far too long, you're both shattered! The poor girl looks dead on her feet! I want you to take her home, and the two of you are going to get some rest before you come anywhere near this hospital again, do you hear me?"

I stared in shock, speechless. Apparently, Zed was used to being spoken to like this because he barely blinked, pushing himself to his feet and holding his hands out in surrender. It felt strangely surreal, seeing a boy like Zed cave so quickly to a woman as small and petite as his mother. Mistaking the expression on my face for worry, Yves cleared his throat quietly, eyeing his mother's stance. "Xav and I will stay with Alex and Thea. I'll call you the moment she's discharged."

Nodding, I let Zed take my arm and steer me out of the waiting room. "So my brother has your number and I don't?" he grumbled at me.

"He comes in very handy when I'm stuck with my Chemistry work," I shrugged defensively.

He shook his head in exasperation. "Brainiacs."

It was dark outside again, and the cold air did nothing to wake me up. I couldn't remember exactly how long we'd been curled up in chairs in the hospital, but my legs were starting to get shaky, and I couldn't stop myself yawning. As we walked across the car park, Zed wound an arm around my waist with a small smile. "Don't go falling asleep on me yet. Food first."

I let out a small groan, shaking my head and ignoring the rumbling sound coming from my stomach. "I'm too tired to eat, Zed. I just want to sleep, preferably before Thea gets discharged and we have to start all this all over again. Someone's got to explain to her and Alex what's going on."

"And it won't matter if you eat first, or last," he shrugged. "Besides, I'm starving, and I'm not letting you out of my sight until Victor gives us the all clear. You're lucky he isn't making you stay at ours. Mom would've been a nightmare."

My heart fluttered slightly at the thought of staying anywhere near Zed for an extend period of time, particular since I'd been spending most of that asleep. Still, I didn't say anything, climbing into the front of Zed's family Jeep and shifting to make myself comfortable. He didn't say anything for a moment or two, turning the key in the ignition and pulling the Jeep out of the car park as he fiddled with the radio with the other.

"Don't tell me you listen to that pop rubbish?" he grimaced over at me.

I pulled a face. "Anything that doesn't sound like it was made by a five year old with a computer."

He grinned. "So not pop then?"  
"Not pop," I agreed, my mouth twitching into a small smile.

Laughing, he winced through his teeth. "Almost." I lifted an eyebrow at him questioningly, praying he wouldn't stop talking. The way I was feeling at the moment, I'd fall asleep if he didn't keep me distracted. "I almost made you smile properly."

I blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"I've never seen you smile," he told me. "Not once."

"It is a rarity," I acknowledged.

"Why?"

"Because I have very little to smile about."

He scowled at me, taking one of my hands in his tightly and pressing his lips to my knuckles softly. "That's going to change," he promised me, and it took a lot for me not to flinch. "Relax, Grace. Most people think smiling is a good thing." I didn't bother answering, my eyes fixed to my fingers laced through his.

We ended up pulling up outside the café Yves had brought me to on the first day of school. The sight of the same little old lady waitressing inside made my eyes roll, but I didn't complain, allowing Zed to lead me to the last booth, his hand still linked through mine. Grinning at me, he pulled me down right beside him, releasing my hand to wind his arm around my waist. When I kept quiet and avoided his gaze, he sighed heavily, exasperated. "Seriously, Grace, relax."

Yawning, I lifted my gaze to him irritably. "I'm trying, you're not making it easy."

"What?" he laughed, staring at me in surprise.

"I'm not used to all this," I shrugged defensively, avoiding the strange look in his eyes and shuffling awkwardly. "It's going to take a little longer than a few days to get used it."

Zed hesitated, obviously thinking very carefully before replying. "Like what?"

I couldn't help scoffing, shifting away from him a fraction to look at him properly. "Like the fact you're my soulfinder," I offered simply. "Or how you're immediate family is at least three times bigger than the only decent family I have, or how they're wrapped up in law enforcement, or how they're all nice people, or how your parents actually care, which apparently includes me, for reasons I can't quite understand."

His eyes had widened as I spoke, and he had to shake himself before he could answer me, clearing his throat and setting his expression sternly. "Listen to me, Grace," he frowned, pulling me closer again and taking my chin in his hand so that I couldn't turn away from him. "You don't need to be worried about my family. I know they can be bit . . . intense sometimes, but that's only because you're the first soulfinder we've found. My brothers are torn between being happy for me and annoyed that they haven't found who they're looking for, and my parents are just happy they don't have to see all their sons alone for the rest of their lives."

I sighed at him, pursing my lips together as the waitress arrived to take our order. "Oh, you're Yves's friend!" she smiled widely at me, and Zed groaned beside me. I shot him an irritable look. "And you must be one of his brothers."

"Zed," he grimaced beside me. Her smile wavered a fraction, and I felt my lips twitch in mild amusement. He smirked at me.

The woman obviously didn't see what was amusing. "Erm, are you ready to order?" she asked uncertainly. Trying to ignore Zed chuckling beside me, I placed an order for the small amount of food I'd be able to eat this late at night and jabbed Zed in the side until he answered the woman. Smiling tightly in confusion, she turned and walked away again.

"Look, I don't know exactly how this is all going to play out," Zed told me, turning to cast a glance over his shoulder to make sure the waitress had left. "But if it makes you feel better, when Thea gets out of hospital, the rest of my family will back off, and we'll take things slow." I flicked my gaze toward him uncertainly, and he shuffled, obviously starting to get a little impatient. I wasn't surprised. Honestly, we'd been clashing since the day we met. I doubted that would ever go away. "Would it be easier if I asked yes or no questions?"

I glowered at him. "I'm not a child."

"But this is turning out to be a very one sided conversation," he frowned back.

"What do you want me to say?" I replied shortly, subconsciously shifting away from him again. "I don't want to see your family?"

"I want you to tell me the truth," he scowled, leaning away from me.

My arms folded over my chest stubbornly. "I am doing, but whenever I say something's remotely wrong, you think you can snap your fingers and fix it all. All I said was that it's going to take some time for me to get used to it all."

Zed scanned my expression carefully. I knew I was irritating him, but frankly, he was irritating me. I might not have had a sheltered childhood like he had, but that didn't mean he needed to wrap me in cotton wool. Honestly, I think I was more annoyed that he obviously thought it was necessary.

Eventually, he sighed heavily, pulling me closer with a tight grip as the waitress brought our food back. She smiled, still uncertain around us. "Coffee?" I tried to pay attention to her, but Zed's hand had slipped over my hip, holding me against him as his breath trailed down the side of my throat. Ignoring the shivers across my skin, I nodded at her gratefully, watching her pour two cups of coffee before toddling off again, casting awkward glances back toward us.

"I'm not handling this very well," he murmured, and I couldn't help scoffing weakly.

"You're kidding, right?"

He smirked. "Not at all. I was talking about the soulfinder thing."

I glanced at him, shrugging a shoulder. "You've just been matched with the daughter of a world-class criminal. I think you're entitled to take it a little badly."

His expression wavered and with a small frown, he lifted a hand to take my face. Without a seconds hesitation, he pressed me against him and lowered his lips to mine. Melting instantly, one of my hands clutched his shirt and pulled him closer. It was the first time he'd kissed me properly since the night at the police station, and I couldn't even find it in me to care that we were in the middle of a public café. My heart was racing, my skin was alive with electricity and I never wanted him to let go.

But then, all too soon, he pulled back, his hand still cradling the back of my neck. "I don't care about any of that," he muttered.

"I know," I answered quietly. "I just don't understand why."

He pressed his lips to mine again quickly. "Yes, you do. You're an incredible girl, Grace. You've had a hard life and after all that, you're still trying to protect everyone else. I think you're amazing." I shuffled awkwardly, uncomfortable under his intense gaze. Laughing lightly, he kissed my temple softly. "Eat. Thea will be discharged from the hospital soon."

Nodding at him silently, I tried my best to block out the smile on his face and eat my food, a little awkwardly since he refused to release any of his hold on me. We ate in silence, but strangely, it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward anymore. Instead, I found myself relaxing into Zed's side, growing more and more sleepy the more I ate.

When I finally finished my pancakes, Zed smiled at me. "Come on," he yawned. "If I don't get you home, my Mom will kill me." I lifted an eyebrow at him, but he just wrapped his arm around me and dropped the money of the food onto the table behind us, leading the way out of the café.

Too tired to talk, Zed switched the radio back on in the car and I forced myself to focus on the songs and the lyrics in a vain attempt to keep myself awake. Fortunately, the house wasn't too far away, and still, by the time the car drew to a halt outside the front door, my eyes were closed and my body seemed to be shutting down, refusing to move.

Zed snorted, nudging me with a smirk. "Don't make me carry you in, Grace." One of my eyes opened a fraction at that, my eyebrows pulling together tightly. He laughed. "Come on."

Groaning irritably, I pushed myself out of the car and dug my hand into my pocket for the house keys. Only now did I remember that Zed wasn't leaving to go home now. He couldn't. Victor had specifically told us that we weren't allowed to be alone. Zed was supposed to stay with me and keep an eye out for trouble. Still, I couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable as I pushed the door open and stepped back to let him in.

He must have noticed the look on my face, because he snorted with a heavy sigh. "So much for taking it slow, huh?" I glowered at him, opening my mouth to snap a comment back, but he just held his hands out in surrender. "Hey, I was kidding! I'll stay on the sofa. Nowhere near your room. Besides, Alex'd kill me."

I rolled my eyes at him, turning toward the kitchen. "I think Alex is a little busy at the moment." He blinked, lifting an eyebrow with a smirk and I felt my cheeks grow uncharacteristically hot. "You know what I meant, stop looking at me like that."

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure he'd make time to beat the life out of me if he had to."

I pulled a face. "Then it's a good job he won't have to." Zed shrugged a shoulder with a glint in his eyes, but I shook myself and turned away from him. I'd thought he was annoying when I was trying to avoid him, but I hadn't counted on him being even more so when I wasn't. Obviously that had been a huge error in judgement.

Something shifted in my thoughts, and I almost started in surprise when I realised Zed was still there, hovering at the front of my mind cautiously. "If I annoy you that much, I can always get Yves down here," he offered calmly, leaning against the breakfast bar casually. Despite his relaxed state at the moment, he knew he'd hate having to ask his brother to watch over me again.

I sighed. "You do annoy me," I conceded. "A lot, actually. But that's just you, so it looks like I'm going to have to get used to it."

His lips tugged at the sides. "I'll try and be good."

I hesitated. "Are we still talking about you annoying me? Or Alex killing you?"

He laughed again, his eyes shining in humour as he swerved around the breakfast bar and wrapped me in his arms. "Both, I suppose," he smirked, lowering his lips to mine softly. Lips moving against his, I shivered into him as his hands slipped to the small of my back. I'd barely managed to lock my arms around his neck, however, when he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine. "But you're making it really difficult."

Shuddering again, I pulled my arms back and pursed my lips, stepping out of his hold. "Then I'll leave you to sleep. Cassandra left pillows and sheets on the armchair."

"She isn't here?" he asked, still distracted as I moved for the stairs.

"She's staying with Darwin, out of the way," I told him with a small frown, almost daring with him to argue with me. I didn't want Cassandra anymore involved in all of this than she already was. Things were getting a little too close to home for my liking, and if something happened to her, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

But Zed nodded at me, like he understood, and stretched out, pausing by my side long enough to press a quick kiss onto my lips. "Night, Grace."

"Goodnight." I turned and took the stairs slowly, unable to shift the feeling that despite everything, maybe letting the Benedicts into my life wasn't such a bad thing after all.


	13. Chapter 12: Alex

_Alex_

I couldn't shift the smile off my face, and believe me, I was trying. It didn't seem right somehow, to waltz back home to Grace with a big grin on my face after finally finding my soulfinder, when she'd came back from the same situation broken and in tears. I didn't want to rub salt in the wounds, for either her or Zed, but I couldn't help it. I knew they were going to ask questions the moment I got back, and even thinking about Thea made my expression split into a wide grin on its own accord.

There was only one thing bothering me, and I prayed Grace wouldn't ask me about it. But she wasn't to know, and it was only natural she'd be curious. So it made it a little easier to keep my face straight when it was the first question she asked.

"Hello?" I called loudly as I stepped back into the house the next morning, feeling strangely happy and content, something entirely new to me. "Grace?"

A groan sounded in the living room, followed by a loud, dull thud and I started, rushing forward. "We've been sleeping for less than four hours, do you have to shout?" Zed's irritable voice came as I came to a halt in the doorway.

"We?" I repeated with a scowl, but fortunately, Grace wasn't anywhere in sight.

Zed glowered up at me. Apparently, rolling over on a sofa as small as our wasn't a good idea, because he was unsuccessfully trying to find the energy to pick himself up off the floor. "She's upstairs," he defended with a sigh. "Nothing happened."

"Um," I frowned at him, as footsteps sounded on the stairs. I leant back to see Grace, still tired and worn out, staggering toward us with her hair wrapped up messily and dressed in her pyjama shorts and vest shirt.

"Alex," she yawned in greeting. "Being delicate as ever, I see."

"It's eight in the morning," I shrugged defensively, grinning widely at her. "Everyone else is getting up."

"It's Saturday," Zed complained, still on the floor with his eyes shut. "I try not to get up before ten on a Saturday." Grace rolled her eyes at me exasperatedly, hesitating by my side abruptly. Frowning, I watched her blink in surprise, following her gaze back to Zed, who I was only just realising wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Breakfast," I warned her, pushing her gently toward the kitchen. She shook herself, taking a deep breath and tearing her eyes away from him. "And you, put a shirt on." Zed opened one of his eyes a fraction, smirking slightly when he noticed Grace. I felt my eyebrows pull together irritably. "Mate, her soulfinder or not, you keep staring at my sister like that and I'll have to beat the hell out of you."

To my surprise, he laughed loudly, reluctantly pushing himself up to find his shirt. "Told you," he winked at Grace.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," she sighed, scowling at the two of us. "Grow up."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but I didn't dare ask. This was weird, seeing my sister loved up with some biker guy she barely knew. Sure, the Benedicts were good people, but Grace was sensible, practical and mature, whereas Zed . . . wasn't.

"How's things at the hospital anyway?" Zed yawned, staggering to his feet as Grace started making coffee. She shot me a concerned look, but pursed her lips tightly and let me speak.

"Good," I nodded, failing to stop my lips twitching into a smile. He snorted at me, clapping me on the shoulder. "The doctors are doing a few last checks to make sure everything's alright, then she'll be discharged."

"Brilliant," he replied. "She scared the hell out of everyone back there."

"Um," Grace agreed with a small frown. "It is her, then?"

I hesitated, scanning her expression. "My soulfinder, you mean? Yeah."

Zed clapped me on the shoulder again with a grin, but opposite me, Grace's eyebrows tightened. "That's not what I meant, we'd already figured she was your soulfinder," she admitted slowly. "I was talking about the dreams. Is Thea the girl you were seeing?" My smile slipped. Of course she was asking that. Like always, my overly observant sister needed to understand every piece of the puzzle before jumping to conclusions.

"What dreams?" Zed yawned.

Grace's expression flickered impatiently, shooting me a pointed look before turning away from the two of us. Zed's eyebrows rose in surprise, but I understood. She'd been nagging me for weeks to talk to her soulfinder about these dreams, refusing point blank to get dragged into it all, and I couldn't blame her. I doubted he was going to take me hijacking his ability very well, and the two of them had enough problems getting on as it was.

"My, err, ability is a little . . . unstable at times," I grimaced at him, and Grace snorted. His expression suddenly became very serious. "Mate, relax, I haven't hurt anyone with it."

"Except from the migraines," Grace grumbled opposite me.

"Which I apologised for," I scowled. "Constantly. The thing is, I can . . . well, my ability means that I can . . . I, err . . ."

"For heaven's sake, Alex!" my sister sighed exasperatedly, spinning to shake her head at me.

"Fine!" I relented hurriedly, ignoring Zed's raised eyebrows. "I can sort of hijack other Savants abilities."

Zed went rigid, and despite her best intentions, Grace ended up shifting closer with a concerned look. "It's not as bad as it sounds," she assured him quietly. "Most of the time, he has it under control, but sometimes while he's sleeping, it just slips."

His eyes flicked toward her, and I couldn't tell if he was more irritated with me or worried about her. "The worst thing that's ever happened is I hijacked Grace's ability and ended up reliving the same ten seconds over and over again," I shrugged at him. "I've been working on controlling it more, and Grace usually keeps her mind locked tighter than Fort Knox. I didn't realise being around you would affect me like that, Grace is the only Savant I've been around this long before."

He still didn't look comfortable, but casting a glance sideways at Grace, he took a deep breath and took the coffee she slid across the breakfast bar for him. It took a lot not to shoot her a stunned look at that. One day with her soulfinder, and she was making people coffee. Instead of commenting, I took mine gratefully, smiling when she didn't meet my gaze. "So what happened?" Zed asked cautiously.

My smile slipped again, but I told him everything I could. Starting out with a scowl, his expression slowly relaxed as I spoke, until his eyes were wide and flicking sideways toward Grace like he was unsure about whether or not to believe me. I told him about the dream of Thea staggering through streets of blurry lights, being shot at, stealing the car, and avoiding a head on collision lorry. By the time I'd done, Grace's eyebrows were tight with concern, and Zed was gawping at me like I was from another planet.

"How many times did you hijack my premonitions exactly?" he stared at me in shock. "Shouldn't I have felt something?"

Grace shook her head with a heavy sigh. "Not unless he purposely breaks in and takes it, no." Zed shot her a look. "What? We were trying to figure out how to control it, and he only did it once." He opened his mouth to argue. "Zed, please focus. It was years ago, you can't protect me from everything!"

From the look on her face, this was an argument they'd had already, and from the look on _his_, not one they were ever going to see eye to eye on. Fortunately, Zed managed to limit his response to a scowl, turning back to me as he tried to calm himself down. "I never saw any premonitions of Thea," he shrugged at me. "So either her looking for you was affecting them, or it could just be because you're naturally linked together."

I blinked. "You see premonitions of Grace?" My sister went still, glowering at Zed in warning.

A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Sometimes," he conceded.

"You're pushing your luck," she scowled at him, placing her coffee on the counter and stalking back out of the room and up the stairs.

"Okay, for the record, I don't like being in the same room as you two," I told him awkwardly, but he just shrugged, still smiling.

"Back to the point," he continued. "You did the right thing, letting her find you. Seeing premonitions isn't as easy as it seems. If you tell people too much, you change their actions and by doing that, affect the outcome. Then, sometimes if you don't tell people, you don't change things enough and bad things happen. And as you've already noticed, you don't always know who the people in the premonitions are, where they are, or how long you have to wait for it to come true. If you'd acted on what you were seeing in anyway, Thea wouldn't have been able to find you as quickly as she had, and when we found her, she needed help. Badly."

I stared at him, then sighed heavily and grimaced at him. "Well, good luck with all that mate. I'll try harder to stay away from you."

"I'll warn the others to keep you out of their minds where possible," Zed added. "Trust me, you don't want to start messing with some of _that_ in your sleep." I scoffed, vaguely wondering what could be worse than seeing premonitions of my soulfinder being shot at and being completely helpless to stop it.

"Alex!" Grace's voice came from the stairway. "Yves just called! Thea's being discharged!" I started, chest clenching tightly. All it took was the sound of her name . . .

Zed cleared his throat, smirking at me. "You'd better go and pick her up." I shook myself, nodding at him once before turning and snatching up the car keys again. I found myself wondering if Zed felt this strongly about Grace. It wasn't something I liked to think about too much, but at least I could take comfort in the fact that if he did, he'd do anything to keep Grace safe.

Grace skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, freshly dressed in battered skinny jeans, combat boots and a dull green military style jacket. She frowned across the room at Zed, hesitating in the doorway. "You're not coming?" she asked, eyeing his still bare chest with flushed cheeks.

He winked at her, stretching out and grinning widely when she looked away hurriedly, embarrassed. Groaning to myself, I turned my back to them. "I'll be outside," I grumbled. "Make it quick." Grace muttered a quiet reply, probably to tell me there was no need, but I ignored her, my stomach squirming nervously.

It had taken Xav, Yves and Trace to get me to leave the hospital a few hours ago, and since Thea had spent the entire conversation giggling at me, it hadn't made things any easier. She might have been bruised and beaten, but she was easily the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid eyes on. She told me repeatedly that I was biased, and that I had to think that, but it didn't stop her kissing me with a shy smile.

Thinking about seeing her again, about her sat on the edge of her hospital bed waiting for me, made me impatient. Luckily, Grace managed to tear herself away from Zed in the space of a few minutes, letting herself out with an uncharacteristic flustered look. I lifted an eyebrow at her, and she scowled.

"Don't look at me like that," she muttered irritably. "Victor said we shouldn't be left alone. He's just being stubborn. _Again._"

I was barely listening, waving her away with a dismissive wave. "He can see the future, Grace, he'll be fine."

She shot me a cold look as the two of us climbed into the car. "He can't see everything, Alex."

"Then stay here with him," I found myself sighing in frustration, turning the key in the ignition and pointing out of the window.

"I promised Thea I'd be there," she argued, folding her arms over her chest. I blinked at her. "What? It's so difficult for you to believe that she trusts me? I was the first person she spoke to here. She asked me to be there for her when she moves in with us, and I promised her I would be."

I held out my hands in surrender, smiling as I pulled the car away from the house and started down the street. "Hey, I'm glad the two of you get along."

"Um. Well, I wouldn't worry about the two of us getting arrested for trying to beat the hell out of each other if I were you." She shot me another pointed look, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"How many times do I have to apologise for that?" I groaned at her.

"You can say it as often as you want," she replied stiffly. "But you're lucky the only thing I've done is snap at you a few times." I had to give her that. If she'd gotten Thea into trouble . . . well, it wouldn't have been easy to forgive her.

Grace didn't say anything else as we drove to the hospital. She was upset about something, but I couldn't focus enough to ask. All I could think about was Thea. She'd spent weeks, months maybe, in the hands of a criminal family with the ability to manipulate her memories and thoughts. I had to make sure that couldn't happen again. I had to make sure she was safe.

The moment the car pulled up, I cut the ignition and jumped out. Grace was a little more hesitant, glancing back the way we came like something was trying to pull her back. "Christ Grace, we'll be back in twenty minutes," I snapped at her impatiently. "He can take care of himself."

She nodded distractedly. "I know, I just . . ." If I'd been more with it, I'd have worried that she'd lost the will to fight back.

We almost ran through the corridors, Grace a little reluctantly, until we were outside Thea's hospital room again. "Go on," my sister muttered distractedly, pushing me toward the door. "I need to talk to Karla." I hesitated, watching her slip past Victor and Trace, who were in deep, stern discussion, and head straight toward Zed's mother. I shook away the strange feeling I got from seeing that, shoving the door open with my shoulder and stepping inside.

"Alex," Thea beamed happily, and I went still inside the doorway. Muttering awkwardly, Xav and Yves moved past me and let themselves out, closing the door behind them. "I thought Grace was coming with you?"

It took me a moment to reply. Karla had brought her some fresh clothes, and she now stood by her hospital bed in slim fit jeans, a red plaid shirt and thick, woollen boots, her dark hair pulled back into a tight braid. Xav had done a good job of healing most of her superficial wounds, and the only marks left were a few burns on her forearms and a large bruise on her neck.

"Alex? Are you alright?" She spoke with a heavy accent with a remarkably soft edge that made me smile, stepping forward and pulling her into me as carefully as I could.

"Never better," I answered honestly. She smiled, leaning closer as I lowered my lips to hers. Having her so close, wrapped tightly in my arms, sent a thrill coursing through my body. I'd never dared to dream that this day would come, that I'd ever find my soulfinder, or that she'd ever find me. Now that it had happened, I could hardly believe it.

Reluctantly, Thea pulled back, breathing raggedly. "Focus," she muttered, and I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or herself.

"I was focused," I replied with a smirk. "On the only thing that matters."

She flushed. "I meant the others. Where's Grace? I want to meet her properly."

"And you might be the first person to admit that out loud," I grimaced at her. She frowned at me indignantly, punching my shoulder gently. I laughed lightly. "What? Even Zed never said that, and he's her soulfinder."

"Really?" she breathed, her eyes wide and shining happily. "Grace has her soulfinder?" I couldn't help smiling back, holding her tightly against me.

"Are you always this caring about everyone?"

She pulled a face. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," I answered with a grin. "Come on. Grace is waiting out here." Thea beamed, slipping one of her hands into mine as I pulled the door open and stepped out in the hall. But, instead of the pleasant greeting Thea was expecting, she got something very different.

Grace was pacing anxiously in the hallway, her eyebrows tight in concentration, an expression I'd only ever seen when she was trying to use her ability. Around her, Trace, Yves, Xav and Karla were watching her worriedly, like they were all trying to muster the courage to talk to her but couldn't find the right words. I hesitated in the doorway, pulling Thea behind me slightly. As sure as I was that Grace would never hurt anyone here, this side of her was something entirely new to Thea and I wouldn't blame her in the slightest for being a little cautious.

"I don't care if he's sleeping, Yves, try again!" Grace was snapping.

Trying his best to keep his temper, Yves sighed heavily. "Grace, he isn't answering. He's had four hours sleep, he's probably fine."

"Probably?" she repeated, pausing to look at him with a scowl. "And since when was that ever good enough?" The Benedicts shifted, exchanging concerned looks.

"Okay," I interrupted slowly before Yves could snap back. "What's going on?"

Beside them, Trace took a deep breath and frowned at Thea and me. "Grace seems to think Zed is in trouble," he told us in a measured tone. "Victor left a few minutes ago, Dad left hours ago to talk to Will and Uriel, and no one can get hold of Zed."

"He's ignoring me," Grace frowned at me. "He _never_ ignores me."

"Grace, give the guy a break, he's tired," I breathed at her, a little wide eyed. "You can't blame him for wanting some sleep."

"Oh for Christ sake, will _someone_ please listen to me?" she as good as shrieked, dangerously close to losing it altogether. "He's been trying to get me to talk to him for months, and now I am, he's always in my mind, like he's worried that if he leaves I'll never let him back in. But now he's not there, and he's blocking _me_ out. Something's wrong, Alex, I know it is!"

No one spoke for a minute or two, and I could tell the Benedicts were trying to work out if that sounded right for Zed. Thea, on the other hand, ignored everyone else entirely and stepped around me with a small frown, her hand slipping out of mine as she moved closer to Grace. I took a breath to argue, but she wasn't paying attention.

"We're going back to the house anyway," she pointed out calmly, and Grace frowned at her, obviously unsure of how to respond. "If there's something wrong-"

I scowled, snorting before I could stop myself. "If there's something wrong at the house-"

"Then stay with her and give me the keys," Grace interrupted impatiently, suddenly back in her element.

"Grace," Karla Benedict started in the background, her concern mounting.

"I'm going back to that house, Karla," she frowned back. "Now. With or without any help."

"I'll come," Xav and Yves immediately volunteered, the two of them stepping forward and straightening out. "If you're really convinced he's in trouble, we're there," Xav added, for once perfectly serious.

"Then we'll all go," Thea shrugged, nudging me sharply with a pointed look. "No one's stay here, after all."

I didn't like the thought of taking Thea anywhere the house. I wasn't sure Grace was thinking straight, but there was a chance she was right, and I wasn't prepared to take Thea near all that. But trying to convince her to go back to the Benedicts house with Karla – who'd already received sharp instructions from Trace to head back to Saul – was useless.

The ride back was awful. Grace refused to sit in a car with me and Thea, so she ended up in the Benedicts Jeep, sat upfront with Trace in utter silence. In one way, I was glad I didn't have to navigate through any sort of conversation with her while she was like that. In another, I hated the thought she'd already turned her back on Thea when she'd already admitted she was one of the few people my soulfinder trusted.

"Relax, Alex," Thea insisted softly from beside me.

My expression had set into a deep frown, my hands tight around the steering wheel. "I'm fine," I lied quietly.

"No, you aren't. You're annoyed Grace hasn't said two words to me." I cast her a sideways glance, and her cheeks flushed. "The barriers around your mind are very flimsy, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I dismissed.

Her lips pursed. "You can't blame Grace for being like this, you know. She's worried, that's all. When she was talking to me back at the stables, she had to let me inside her mind to talk telepathically, and she let me see a lot she's never trusted anyone with, including her soulfinder, to earn my trust. I know she can be a little abrupt at times, but I also know she's a very nice girl. She'd do anything to keep Zed safe."

My lips twitched, my hand stretching to take one of hers tightly. "You're amazing, you know that?" She flushed. "And I know exactly why she's behaving like this, that's what I'm worried about."

Thea frowned, puzzled. "I don't understand."

Hesitating only a moment, I sighed heavily. "She spent weeks avoiding Zed because she thought he'd be in danger if he was around us," I told her, and having already listened to me explain very carefully about the dangers of being associated to my sister and I, Thea nodded with a careful frown. "In that time, she almost broke under the strain. If something has happened to Zed, this quickly after she's let him in, she _will_ break. I know she will, and I don't know whether that will mean she gives in and shuts herself in her room, or . . ."

Thea sighed. "Or whether she'll end up like your father?" It was a question I didn't need to answer. I knew I'd never be able to bring myself to say it out loud, but that was exactly what I was scared would happen. With the ability to turn back time, Grace could get away with just about anything if she wanted to, and no one would be any the wiser to it all. She'd proved that much already, having broken the law multiple times without any record of it. If she broke like that, she had the potential of being just as bad as Matthews. The worst part was, I knew he'd love every second of it.

Trace's car pulled up just ahead of ours, and I'd barely drawn to a halt when Grace was leaping out of the front car. She managed to take all of a few steps before her face fell in horror. With an impending sense of doom, I followed her gaze and cursed loudly, slowly climbing out of the car. Around us, the neighbours were all lingering with horrified, curious expressions, pointing and whispering. In front of us, the front door was hanging off its hinges and the window had been smashed.

"Oh my," Thea breathed, her eyes shining as she came to a halt beside me. The Benedict brothers didn't look any better, already sure their brother was gone. Yves's fists were clenched furiously at his sides, Xav stared at the house with an unreadable expression, and Trace was already on the phone to Victor.

Grace didn't even turn to acknowledge us. Instead, she took a ragged breath and started forward. "Stay here," I muttered sideways at Thea, and she pursed her lips, nodding at me.

_Be careful,_ she insisted internally. I squeezed her hand in response, moving to follow Grace in determination.

Inside was even worse than out. The living room had been turned over, the coffee table broken in half and the sofa ripped and torn. The kitchen wasn't any better, and the back door completely missing. Zed's shirt was still lay across the floor.

"Grace," I started slowly. She didn't turn, standing a few paces in front of me, completely motionless. "Grace, say something."

She sniffed, taking another shaky breath. "Like what?" she managed, her voice hoarse. "Like I should have stayed here? Like I knew there was something wrong and I still left him alone?"

I flinched. "There's nothing you could have done," I muttered back.

She scoffed darkly. "Don't lie, Alex, I can turn back time."

There was silence for a moment, in which I was starting to think I'd never be able to save my sister from Matthews. Then she turned to face me, her entire body shaking and her eyes brimmed with tears. A lump formed in my throat, my eyes narrowing furiously. No one had managed to do this to my sister in a long time. When I found whoever had taken Zed . . .

"He's gone, Jacks," she breathed raggedly through her tears. "And it's my fault."

My face fell, my heart hammering. She hadn't called me Jacks since we were eleven years old. Jackson had been my real name, Alexander being a name our grandmother had chosen for me when we'd first met her. Back then, Grace had been Olivia, and she was a very different person, completely unable to take care of herself, barely more than a little kid. Now, seeing her like that again, made my eyebrows tightened protectively.

"We're going to get him back, Livy," I replied quietly, stepping forward and pulling her into a tight hug. Immediately, her tears soaked my shoulder. "I promise."

Looking at her, we didn't have much of a choice.


	14. Chapter 13: Grace

I couldn't describe the feeling settling in. Around me, people were talking, rushing around and arguing amongst themselves, but their voices sounded distant, like I was hearing them through a distorted radio. My heartbeat seemed too loud, radiating through my whole body, and my breath seared the inside of my throat. Shivers ran across my skin, my eyes fixed to the cup of hot chocolate someone had left in front of me.

I barely remembered the Benedicts dragging me out of the house and bringing me up to their house on the outskirts of town. I knew Thea hadn't left my side since we'd arrived, the two of us sat side by side on a sofa that seemed to be trying to swallow me whole. Alex was never far away either, and I knew it was because he was worried I'd break. Only now, he was worried for Thea, not me. Xav and Yves were hovering too, obviously annoyed they couldn't do anything to help find their brother.

"You should drink something," Thea murmured at me softly, leaning forward and picking up the hot chocolate. Carefully, she placed it in my hands with a pointed look. Just to keep her quiet, I took a cautious sip, shuddering when the chocolate hit my stomach nauseatingly.

"None of this makes any sense," Yves scowled, and my sore eyes flickered upward for only a split second. "I can't figure any of this out."

"It's easy," Xav sighed irritably. "Zed was in the way, they took him. End of discussion."

_Zed wasn't in the way,_ I corrected silently to myself. _They came for him. They came for him because of me. End of discussion._

"That's not what I meant," Yves snapped back angrily.

"Can we not do this right now, please?" Thea suddenly interrupted from my side. The Benedicts stared at her. "Maybe we should wait for Victor to get back and explain what he can. Presuming anything right now is only going to make everyone feel worse."

Yves cast me an awkward look, and Xav shifted. "Sorry, Grace."

I flinched before I could help it. "Don't apologise," I managed, my voice strangely quiet and hoarse. "Please." They exchanged an awkward, confused look, but in the background, Alex scowled at me irritably.

He knew I was blaming myself for this, but what else was I supposed to think? I _told_ him, time and time again, that being associated with us was a bad idea. I knew they'd find us and they'd use him against me, and still he paid no attention whatsoever. The Kellys might have a personal vendetta against the Benedicts, but whatever anyone else said, it was still Matthews pulling the strings. That meant they came for _us._ This was our fault - my fault - and there was nothing anyone could say to change my mind.

It took a while for Victor to return, and when he did, there was a man I thought I should recognise with him. He was a little shorter than Victor, with tatty mouse brown hair and alert pale blue eyes. Unlike Victor's smart suit, he was dressed in worn dark blue jeans, Converse and a button down sapphire blue shirt open at the collar and rolled up around his elbows.

The moment he stepped in, his eyes were fixed on me. "Grace Peterson, I take it?" My body locked in place when I heard his broad Scottish accent, and Alex flinched forward.

"It's alright, Grace," Victor assured me.

"No, it isn't," Alex snapped back angrily. "Who the hell-"

"Elijah Redfield," the man interrupted, and my brother's face fell in shock. Beside me, Thea muttered something under her breath with wide eyes and the younger Benedict brothers exchanged stunned looks. Elijah barely noticed. Obviously, he was used to this kind of reception.

"Sorry, for dropping in," he said, his eyes still fixed on me as he strode forward and settled himself on the coffee table directly opposite me. "I understand this must all be very difficult for you, Miss Peterson, and the rest of my family would have been here too, but we can't risk that kind of attention, and most of my siblings are off the grid at the moment."

Thea choked. "Err, off the grid?" she repeated weakly.

Elijah's face broke into a strange smile, and he shrugged. "It's a long story. Hayden and Winter got into a small argument and things escalated . . . a little."

"And they're _off the grid_?" Xav gawped. "Christ, remind me not to argue with a Redfield."

Elijah winked. "I'll keep that in mind, kid." Xav blinked, obviously not used to be called a kid. But Elijah's attention had drifted back toward me and his eyes became stern and alert again. "The reason I'm here is because things have obviously taken a turn for the worst, and we all need this over with as soon as possible."

I wanted to reply, but I didn't trust myself. Elijah Redfield was one of the most powerful Savants in the world, and right now, he was irritating the hell out of me. As the daughter of the man his family were set on taking down, I didn't think annoying him was a very good idea.

His lips curved into a small smile like he knew what I was thinking. "I won't be offended if you yell," he promised me softly. "I can't begin to imagine what you're going through, but I understand better than you think I do."

I stared at him for a moment. "I don't believe you."

Alex shuffled awkwardly, but Elijah merely lifted an eyebrow. "Really? You don't think I know how it feels to be a constant danger to your own soulfinder?"

I didn't answer, but my mouth ran a little dry. I hadn't expected a question like that, but it made sense. People like the Redfields were targets. It was only natural they'd be worried about their soulfinders. But worrying about it being a possibility was very different from where I was now.

"Do you know your soulfinder?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"No," Elijah answered, and I knew he was telling the truth. "My family and I have had to take extreme measures in recent years to keep ourselves away from any Savant that could potentially be linked to us. It's a little complicated at the moment, but it's far too dangerous. Catherine's entire family was killed because she found my eldest brother, Isaac."

Thea shuffled anxiously beside me awkwardly. I knew she was sure that being a soulseeker was a good thing, and that finding Savant's over halves was amazing, and here was a Redfield admitting that it was likely one of the worst things about his life.

"The point is, if we can make the US safe, that would be a major blow to Matthews," Elijah continued, shaking off the subject of soulfinders. "What we need right now is to figure out how they found you."

"We've already traced back through Thea's movements," Victor added. "They didn't follow her here, and we're sure they don't even know she found Alex."

"At the moment, I have people combing through all the communications from you and the people who knew who and where you were," Elijah told me. "But nothing's coming up."

"There has to be something!" Alex suddenly blurted, and after patiently waiting for Elijah and Victor to produce a miracle, the room was in chaos. Yves, Xav and Alex were all trying to shout at the same time, Victor and Elijah were hopelessly trying to calm them down. Thea hesitated a moment, then rushed around them to get to Alex, pleading with him to calm down.

I watched for a moment, my stomach sinking through the ground. These were supposed to be the people I was counting on to save my soulfinder . . . Gulping, I pushed myself to my feet silently and let myself out of the house.

Outside, snow was falling thick and fast and my breath hung in the air in front of me. Shivers ran across my skin, and I wrapped my jacket around myself tighter as I leant against the side of the house. Zed was gone. The Benedicts were falling apart, and now the Redfields were directly involved. And still, no one could bring him back.

So what happened next? I refused point blank to give up, and no matter what the others said, I wasn't going to sit here and do nothing. Suddenly and without warning, my mother's voice seemed to ring around my mind. _You have to focus, Livy,_ she'd tell me when I'd yet again failed to keep control of my ability. _You're a smart girl, Olivia, and I know you're going to be just fine._

Shaking the voice away, I blinked back the tears springing up in my eyes and took a ragged breath. My mother was right. I wouldn't be able to help Zed by wallowing in self-pity. There _had_ to be something we were missing, some way that the Kellys found us.

_So think,_ I urged myself. _How could this have happened?_

Victor had said that they knew Thea hadn't been tracked. I shuffled slightly at the thought, since he'd also been sure something like this couldn't happen anyway. Still, presuming he was right, it was looking likely that Thea had nothing to do with it. It could have been possible, I supposed, that she'd told them where to find us before she'd left them, but I'd been inside her mind. I _knew_ that wasn't true. She'd never risk Alex's life like that. No, this definitely wasn't anything to do with Thea. She'd been the Kelly's original plan, and that had failed.

Failed . . . that made my eyebrows tighten. My father didn't accept failure, and he certainly didn't believe in second chances. So why were the Kellys still standing? It didn't make sense. The only reason Matthews would keep them alive was if he already knew he was going to need them. That made a little more sense, since everyone here seemed to believe his influence over here was severely restricted. Every Savant counted. Still, he definitely wouldn't have trusted them to pull this off alone after Thea escaped. That much I knew for sure.

Which meant there had something else going on here. Somehow, he'd found someone more reliable. Someone who knew who we were, where we lived and that Zed was my soulfinder and my biggest weakness. That limited the number of people dramatically. There weren't many who knew about my connection to the Benedicts, and the Benedicts themselves would never give us up to the Kellys, for their son's sake more than anyone else's.

That discounted them and Thea. The only others that knew were me, Alex and the Redfields, and there wasn't a chance in hell Matthews had managed to get to them. My anger flared again at the thought I'd just gone in circles. I was missing something, forgetting something I shouldn't, I _had_ to be. The Kellys knew Zed was my soulfinder. Whoever told them had to be close to us, it was as simple as that.

And then it hit me, like a wrecking ball to my stomach. How could I have been so stupid? It was obvious, but . . . I found myself praying that it wasn't true. It couldn't be . . . could it?

I felt tears trailing down my cheeks, and I started, shaking myself and wiping them away. Without waiting, I pushed myself away from the house and started forward. I couldn't tell if they were still arguing inside, and I knew Victor would kill me himself if he thought I was intentionally leaving safety on my own. But I had to know the truth, however hard it was to get or how painful it was to hear. So, locking my jaw in determination, I broke into a run and bolted away from the Benedict's house.

It took me awhile to walk back to the house, but I didn't stop or slow down. Eventually, the Benedicts would realise I was gone, and then I was in for it. Finally though, I made it back to the house. The police had long since abandoned it, obviously sure they'd found out everything they could from the mess the kidnappers had left. It didn't surprise me. The Benedicts had pretty much torn the place apart.

Hesitating outside for a second, I took a deep, shaky breath and forced myself to focus enough to prepare my ability. I had to remind myself that whatever I'd thought up to this point was probably a lie, which meant I had no idea what I was about to face.

_But if you don't, Zed will die,_ a small voice at the back of my mind whispered. I shuddered, an icy chill trailing down my spine. "You can do this, Livy," I muttered to myself, scowling at the front door in concentration. "Deep breath. This is for Zed."

Pursing my lips tightly, I started forward, up the garden path and toward the broken front door. Reaching out to touch it, I was suddenly hit with the same, overwhelming devastation. Zed was in danger because of me, and I _had_ to fix this.

He was gone and it felt like Matthews had ripped my heart out of my chest.

Gulping hard, I shouldered the door open and took a few cautious steps inside. The wooden floors clipped ominously beneath my combat boots. Somehow, the whole house seemed too dark and cold, despite the mid-day sun reflecting off the bright white snow outside. The comforting atmosphere this house had once possessed was long gone, filled with nothing but bad memories.

Everything was worse in the living room. Tears brimmed in my eyes at the sight of all the broken furniture. What kind of struggle causes this much damage? _The brutal kind,_ the voice in my head supplied darkly. I shook it away, shivering in fear. Instead, I kept moving into the room, stooping to pick up Zed's shirt.

The sight sent more tears streaming silently down my cheeks, but I straightened out and ran the shirt through my fingers. My eyes stared at it, almost unseeing, and the longer I stared at it, the more I became sure that something was wrong. Slowly, the tears dried up and my eyebrows began to tighten. Casting an uncertain look around me, I lifted the shirt higher. I remembered the way Zed's arms felt when they were wrapped around my waist, the way it felt to bury my face in his neck. He smelt of cologne and mint body wash. This shirt, however, didn't.

"Grace?"

The voice made me whip around in surprise, and Cassandra frowned cautiously at me. She was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. She looked fine, more than fine even. Dressed in a sharp, business styled dress, her eyes were fixed to my face. For a second, the two of us just stared at each other. Then, her eyes drifted over the rest of the house.

"The police called me while I was with Darwin," she told me, her tone too measured and rehearsed. "They said that boy had been taken. Zed Benedict, was it?" I didn't answer. A lump was forming in my throat, until it became painful to breathe. Cassandra's eyes dropped to the shirt in my hands. "That's his shirt?"

"You tell me."

She blinked at me, shifting her weight slightly. "I beg your pardon?"

"Who's shirt is this?" I demanded, suddenly furious, and her face straightened impassively. "Because it sure as hell isn't Zed's." Her eyes widened a fraction, and something like fear flashed in them momentarily. But I didn't care. My anger was burning in my veins, and I needed a release. Vaguely, I wondered for a moment if this was how it felt when Matthews broke, but it was a distant thought and it didn't change a thing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered darkly, eyes scanning my very emotion.

"Don't lie to me!" I found myself screaming at her, throwing the shirt across the room. Cassandra barely flinched. "You're the one person who knows _everything_ about Alex and me, the _only_ other one who _knew_ who he was, and the Benedicts sure as hell didn't hand over _their own son!_"

For a second, she didn't move. Then her lips twitched in a dark amusement, and the back door swung open. My eyes flicked sideways and in the doorway, three large figures blocked out most of the outside light. I recognised one as Darwin from the accident at the hospital, but I'd never seen the others before, both of whom were broad, muscular and itching for a fight.

Somewhere deep down, fear began to mix with my anger, but my eyes narrowed. "You weren't unconscious at the hospital," I glowered at him. "You just had to make sure it was actually me."

He smirked. "Not as dumb as you look, kid," he snorted with a strong English accent. No wonder I'd never met him before. Just hearing it would've made me suspicious.

"Which means you've been in on it the whole time," I muttered dark at Cassandra, torn between the shame of getting caught out so easily and fury we'd been betrayed by someone we trusted.

"Not the whole time," she shrugged, completely calm. "Just since I met Darwin and I realised who the two of you really were. Do you know how much you and your bratty brother were worth? And that's _before_ you met that Benedict boy!"

My jaw locked, my body shaking in fury. Mind whirling, I focused all my energy on Alex and blocking Darwin and the other Savants out of my mind. _Alex! _I almost yelled mentally. _Alex, answer me!_

"So you handed us over for money?" I glared, snarling through my teeth.

Cassandra scowled at me irritably. "Don't get all high and mighty with me, girl," she hissed. "Not exactly the best example of citizenship yourself if I remember correctly." My lips pursed furiously, partly to conceal the wince as Alex's reply broke through my thoughts.

_What the hell are you, Liv?_ his snarl came.

_Our house. Cassandra's here. She sold us out, Alex._

_WHAT?_

"We need to wrap this up, Cassie," Darwin yawned, striding casually into the room. "She's calling for backup."

_What the hell did you run off for?_ Alex yelled at me.

Another voice broke through, calmer and authoritative. _Keep them talking, Grace,_ Elijah Redfield's voice came. _Give us five minutes._

I scoffed darkly at Darwin before Cassandra could answer, my eyes automatically flicking toward the clock on the wall. "I don't need backup."

His eyes glistened in humour, obviously positive that the four of them could handle a seventeen year old girl. "No, you don't," he agreed. "Because you're going to come quietly, or your little boyfriend is going to be seriously hurt."

Anger flared again and I felt my face flush in fury. "Put a finger on him and the only one that gets hurt is you," I promised him darkly.

"Really?" he laughed. "Is that so? Just you?"

"Just me."

His two henchman chuckled darkly, moving closer and a shot of panic flashed thorough me. Without thinking, I took a step back. Darwin laughed again. "See?" he grinned. "What could a seventeen year old girl."

"You'd be surprised."

For a moment, the sheer conviction in my voice made all four of them hesitate. My eyes flicked back to the clock. Two more minutes.

"She's bluffing," Cassandra muttered at him, almost convinced.

Darwin's eyes narrowed cautiously. "Of course she is," he snapped back. "She's just a kid. She can't beat all four of us."

My lips curled slightly. "Let's see," I glowered. "Two Savants-" I jabbed a finger at Darwin and one of his henchman, who instinctively flinched back, "- and two regular people." I pointed to the other man and Cassandra. "Now the last two will take barely any effort at all. Just breaking into their mind can be seriously painful . . . or so I'm told. The real question is, are you two as strong as you think you are?"

The two men glanced at each other. "You're just a kid," Darwin repeated, not at all confident.

"Bearing in mind that I've been doing this my whole life," I nodded with a frown. "Sure. I'm just a kid."

They exchanged another, nervous look, and I glanced back at the clock. One minute. _Can't stall much longer,_ I snapped back at Alex and Elijah.

I could feel Alex's anger turn to worry. _Come on, Gracie,_ he insisted nervously. _If anyone can stall for more time, it's you._

"They won't get to you in time," Darwin snarled at me suddenly, and in the same second I felt him try to break into my mind. Gasping in surprise, I threw up as many barriers as I could and fixed my eyes to him as he started forward. "Time to go home, Miss Matthews."

The name made me flinch back, but I forced myself to stand still, my body as cold as ice. My eyes watched him move slowly forward, flanked by the other Savant and a very reluctant Cassandra. _Pace yourself, Liv,_ I repeated, over and over again, and I felt another wave of concern from Alex.

_Nearly there, sis,_ he told me quietly. _Hold on._

_Not the first time I've been here, Alex,_ I pointed out dryly as Darwin cracked.

"Stop talking to them!" he shouted furiously and in a blind fury, he leapt forward and grabbed my arm. Yelping in surprise, I staggered on my feet, my back colliding with his chest. Dipping into the back of my mind, I reached out for all five of our mental patterns and twisted, slowing time right down.

I saw Cassandra move to grab my legs, slow enough for me to comprehend through my panic. Taking a ragged breath, I let my eyes slip to the next guy, the slow time meaning I was still staggering backward into Darwin. The moment I was sure I knew where everyone was, I released my hold of their thoughts, immediately kicking out at Cassandra as hard as possible. She squealed in surprise, my foot colliding with her chest so hard she toppled backward, choking and gasping for breath with wide, fearful eyes. But I barely noticed. I'd already shifted my attention to the two henchmen, breaking into their thoughts as aggressively as possible, until they both yelled out in pain.

_Once more, Liv,_ I thought in determination. Breathing deeply again, I reached out again and manipulated the men's thoughts until time slowly began to turn back.

I stumbled forward as Darwin turned me back around and his grasp started to loosen on my arms. The two Savants continued to yell, reliving the mental break-in in reverse, and Cassandra was too dazed to do more than blink up at the ceiling.

By the time my head was starting to hurt with the effort, Darwin had released me and the front door smashed open loudly. Still furious, I just about had time to kick Darwin in the stomach with as much power as possible before Elijah, Alex and the Benedict brothers scrambled into the room.

"Grace!" Alex rushed, pushing past the confused Savants and hauling me into his arms protectively. "Grace, are you alright?"

I lifted a hand to my nose, which had started bleeding slowly. "Fine," I managed through my teeth, glaring between the four in front of me.

"Well kid, if you ever want a job in law enforcement," Elijah grimaced as he strode into the room. "Looks like you did a real number of these guys." His eyes were fixed on the two henchmen, who were clutching their heads carefully.

"Remind me not to argue with her again," Xavier muttered sideways at Yves from the doorway as the two brothers watched Victor and Trace handcuff the henchman.

"Xav, take a look at Grace," Trace instructed with a frown. Pulling a face, he slowly stepped forward and moved toward me as Elijah cuffed Darwin.

"Haven't I arrested you once already?" he asked him with a dark scowl.

"No, but I met your sister once," Darwin snarled back under his breath. "Had a _real_ nice chat too."

Elijah snorted with no humour, eyeing Victor and Trace for a second. Then, without warning, he spun Darwin back around and punched him in the face, so hard I thought I heard his nose break as blood spurted everywhere.

"You're lucky," he commented dryly. "That would've hurt a hell of a lot more if I didn't know my sister could easily kick your arse."

It took a moment or two for Darwin to collect himself, spitting blood out of his mouth and onto the floor. "You won't get the boy back," he growled irritably. "If Matthews doesn't get his brats back, the boy dies."

Alex stiffed next to me. "And if he does?"

Darwin shot him a cool look, but Elijah pushed his chest with a scowl. "Answer the kid's question," he ordered.

"How am I supposed to know?" Darwin grumbled. "The Kellys wanted to keep him as an example to the Benedicts."

"And Matthews?"

Darwin's eyes flicked toward me. "If Olivia returns to London with Jackson, she can keep him."

It took a moment for the words to register. If I went back to my father, Zed stayed with me . . . and Matthews. He said . . . I could _keep him?_ Without thinking, I tore myself out of Xav's and Alex's hold and smacked Darwin as hard as possible. "He's not a pet!" I screamed, stumbling as Elijah half-heartedly pulled me back.

"He won't be anything if you aren't in Vegas by morning," Darwin snarled back.

My face straightened slightly and my anger was slowly replaced with overwhelming fear. They were going to kill him, that much I knew for sure. And even if I did turn myself over, we'd have to fight the Kellys to get him out of there. And even _then,_ I'd be subjecting him to a life under my father's rule. I'd been there before. It wasn't a good life, not by any stretch of the imagination.

But, however confusing it was for me, Elijah obviously wasn't troubled.

"I guess we'd better get going then," he shrugged simply, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Come on, kid. We've got a _lot_ to talk about."


	15. Chapter 14: Grace

"I don't like this," Alex was snarling irritably. Beside him, Thea grimaced and tightened her hold around his hand.

"You don't have to like it, kid," Elijah told him simply, yawning and stretching out. "It's not your decision to make."

"She's my sister!"

"And he's her soulfinder," he countered easily. "Her soulfinder, her choice. Simple."

"_Simple?"_ Alex snarled.

Again, Elijah just shrugged. "It's the logic I always use with my sisters, and one of them doesn't have half the guts Grace does."

Next to me, Xav snorted. "And the others?"

Elijah grinned. "Put it this way. Don't ever argue with Autumn, and don't be surprised if Winter ends up starting World War Three."

Before I can help it, I let out a short, surprised laugh. "Autumn and Winter?" I questioned.

"And _don't_ ever do that in front of them," Elijah laughed. "Even if they are with Summer, too." My lips twitched in misplaced humour. Summer, Autumn and Winter . . . no wonder the Redfields changed their names so often.

But my face straightened quickly afterward. Right now, a large group of us were sat on a private plane headed for Vegas. Xav and Yves sat on either side of me, trying to keep me calm. To the left, Thea was huddled into Alex's side, shooting nervous looks in my direction and looking distinctly ill. Not surprising really, considering she'd spent a good deal of time trying to get _out_ of Vegas.

Looking a considerable amount calmer, Elijah, Victor and Trace were sat opposite me, the first slouched in a chair, the second scowling at his feet, and the third drumming his fingertips on his knee.

"Go over it all once more," Alex insisted. Even Trace groaned wryly, but Elijah took a deep breath and straightened out.

"The Kellys are going to expect us to try something, so there's no point in trying to be discreet," he started importantly. "What we need is a distraction. Something they'll focus on."

"So you're sending Grace in their casino and _booking her a room?"_

"I am here, you know," I grumbled at him. "I said from the start I'd do it."

"Of course you did," Alex glowered. "Because it's Zed. But this is bordering on suicide, Gracie!"

I wanted to point out that if I couldn't get Zed back, I didn't much care what happened afterward, but Elijah interrupted. "Grace isn't going to be alone," he reminded my dear brother. "Since the Kellys are expecting the Benedicts, I'll be going in with her. The Kellys have never had any dealings with us before, so they won't know who I am. As soon as we have their attention, they'll try to separate the two of us."

"Which you're planning to let them do," Alex growled.

I was starting to get really annoyed by his negativity, but Elijah barely blinked. "They'll see me as a soft target," he shrugged, with an arrogant smirk.

"Which you're not," I guessed.

"Not remotely," he grinned back. "Trust me, I've been here before. Getting away from them will be a piece of cake. The hard part is up to you, I'm afraid. When they've separated us and they have you, they're going to try and make contact with Matthews. You have to convince them you can get them Alex, and that you're willing to do it, if they tell you were Zed is."

"The moment we know that, we'll move in," Victor told me with a frown. "We already have a team waiting for the word to go."

Alex scoffed, obviously not at all impressed, but Thea elbowed him in the side. "And what happens after all this is over?" she asked carefully.

"The second we know this is all sorted, I'll have Tate on a plane over here," Elijah said. "My brother might be a pompous idiot, but he's very good at making sure the bad guys stay behind bars. If we get it sorted today, the Kellys won't be problem in the future."

"No pressure then," Xav sighed heavily beside me. "Get rid of the Kellys, get rid of Matthews, right?"

_Right, _I thought. _And I get the hard part. No pressure._

By the time we reached Vegas, it was mid-morning. The airport was crowded with tourists and holiday makers, all laughing loudly and chatting excitedly amongst themselves. None of them had any clue about the severity of our task here. If we didn't stop the Kellys, if Matthews got a foothold over the Atlantic, things would go from bad to worse, for everyone, not just Savants. I had no idea what his goal was, or if he even had one, but whatever it was, we had to stop it.

I tried to convince myself that was why I was here. It was easier to think that way, to see it as less personal. A tactical, objective task was something I could control, something I could understand after a solitary life filled with nothing but the thought of getting through the next day. Emotions, relationships and soulfinder were things I'd never thought about, never even entertained the possibility that they meant anything until I met Zed. Thinking about him hurt too much, so I choose not to. I'd get to that part eventually, but to do that, I had to focus clearly enough to get through the first part.

Outside the airport, there were two cars waiting for us. One was a large black SUV with tinted windows, the other a rather unattractive, unremarkable family car in a horrid burgundy colour. "Come on, Grace," Elijah grimaced, hauling my luggage into one hand and steering me toward the burgundy car. "Remember, for the purposes of this trip, my name is Carl Peterson and I'm your older brother. We're here visiting relatives."

"At a casino?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow coolly.

He shrugged easily. "What can I say, I have a gambling problem. This cover isn't supposed to stick, Grace, they're supposed to know exactly who _you_ are, but the last thing we all need is Matthews knowing my family is sticking their nose in over here. Not until it's already too late." Unable to argue, I climbed into the passenger seat of the car, shooting a quick grimace in Alex's direction before disappearing from view. I could see him in the wing mirror, scowling at the car as Thea and Trace forced him into the SUV.

Elijah glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. "You and your brother seem to be used to this sort of thing."

"A side-effect of running away from a psychotic madman," I dismissed quietly. "I thought you of all people would know that."

He laughed as he started the car, pulling away from the airport casually. "You make a good point," he shrugged.

I shifted, frowning at him. "Don't you think it will be obvious that you're a Redfield?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "Why'd you say that?"

"Your accent."

He laughed again, remarkably at ease. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?" he grinned. "The Kellys have most likely been warned about us, but the Benedicts have known about them for a lot longer. They've been under surveillance for a long time now. Apparently, they don't even think of us as a threat, if you can believe that."

Actually, I couldn't. From what I'd heard of the Redfields, I thought every Savant criminal was worried about them. "Why not?"

Elijah pulled a face. "Hard to say, really. Sometimes they get too arrogant, sometimes they think they're too far away, or we're spreading ourselves too thin."

"Are you?"

He glanced at me. "Don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"I prefer getting to the point," I admitted.

"No problem with that," he smiled easily. "Sometimes it seems we are. Like at the moment. Winter and Hayden have fallen off the face of the earth, and the rest of my siblings are scattered all over the world dealing with problems in the Net or trying to chip away at Matthews' ever growing empire. The man has a disturbingly large influence at the moment."

"How many of you are there?"

"Depends on what you mean," he shrugged. "At the moment, I have five siblings, three nephews and a niece."

"At the moment?"

He grimaced sadly, and I began to regret asking. "My parents had seven children," he said softly. "Our family was quite large at one point, when you included Isaac's wife and family." I wanted to say something to chance the subject, but my voice wouldn't work the way I wanted it to.

Fortunately, Elijah sighed heavily. "There's a lot more than just my family, though. There's obviously the Net, made up of people from just about every agency you can think of. The FBI, CIA, MI6, police forces on nearly every continent, lawyers, government officials. You name it, and the Savant Net has people from that department working to bring people like Matthews down. Then there's the task force my family set up, specifically to target Matthews. It's a lot smaller, but the agents are very strictly trained. Most of them work to protect potential targets for Matthews, or in small, undercover ops to limit or damage his control."

I blinked, speechless for a moment. "I never realised . . ."

He lifted an eyebrow at me. "That there was so much going on? So much at stake?"

Slowly, I nodded, dropping my gaze. "Alex and I . . . we've just been so focused on staying out of his way, surviving on our own . . . Before meeting the Benedicts, we'd cut ourselves off from other Savants completely. When we ran away, Matthews had a lot of control in the South of England, but that was pretty much it. I had no idea things had gotten so out of hand."

"Neither did we until it was too late," he agreed wryly. "But there's no point in debating the past. What's done is done, and now, all we can do is pursue a way to bring him down. One way or another, all of this is going to come to a head, sooner rather than later."

My gut twisted in fear. "What makes you say that?"

He hesitated, eyes fixed on the road ahead like he was seeing something I couldn't. "You and your brother," he admitted, and my stomach dropped through the ground. "Now that you've resurfaced, Matthews will want to take the US to get to you. We can't let that happen, which means things will escalate until undercover operations are no longer effective, and when that happens . . ." He glanced at me, as though he was just remembering who he was talking to. He grimaced tightly. "Let's just say we have a contingency plan, and have done for a while."

My throat closed up, but I forced myself to talk. "Why haven't you used it already, if things at that bad?"

He winced. "It's risky. _Really_ risky. For a lot of different families, and we have no right to drag them into this unwillingly."

"But . . . if it comes down to it . . ."

"We might not have a choice," he finished darkly, and looking at his expression, he wasn't looking forward to the day that became necessary. Listening to him, neither was I.

After that intense discussion, I was almost relieved when we pulled up outside The Fortune Teller hotel and casino. The moment the car came to a halt, Elijah climbed out of the car and went to collect our luggage. Reluctantly, I followed him, pursing my lips and wrapping my denim jacket around my body a little tighter.

_Zed might be inside,_ a small voice in the back of my mind said. I scowled, shaking it away and resisting the urge to reaching out with my mind to try and find him.

"Ready, sis?" Elijah grinned, and I nodded with a small frown, taking my luggage from him and following him into the building.

To say the lobby was tacky would be an understatement. I immediately hated everything about this place, from the people dressed up in expensive clothes gambling at poker tables and roulette wheels, to the receptionist smiling a fake, thousand watt smile from her station.

"Good morning," Elijah smiled at her as we approached. Her eyes widened and scanned his face appreciatively, her cheeks flushing slightly. "We'd like to book into one of your suites please."

The receptionist glanced sideways at me and, despite the way my stomach clenched nervously, she disregard me almost immediately. I could have sighed in relief. "Do you have a reservation?" she asked in sickly sweet voice, batting her eyelashes at Elijah.

He grimaced and winced through his teeth. "Actually, we don't."

Her face fell, and she stared at us like we must have been mad. "Erm . . . let me just see if we have anything available." Frowning at us, she turned to her computer and started typing something. We waited for a moment, but as expected, she shook her head and turned her attention back to us. "We don't have anything free for tonight, I'm afraid."

_Great, now what?_ I thought irritably, my arms tightened around my body.

Elijah didn't seem bothered. "There must be something," he insisted softly, and the receptionist flushed again.

"Actually, Mr . . .?"

He grinned. "Peterson." If the grin on his face wasn't evidence enough that he was clearly lying, the not-so-sly wink in my direction had to be a giveaway. I blinked in shock, but pursed my lips and kept my opinions to myself.

"Well, Mr Peterson," the receptionist gulped, still flushed. "I'm afraid there really is nothing at th-" She cut off as the phone at her desk give a shrill ring and, grimacing at him, she held out a finger. "Just a moment please. Hello?"

His grin growing, Elijah winked at me again over his shoulder. By this point, I couldn't do any more than roll my eyes at him wryly. Behind the desk, the receptionist's face was paling dramatically. _Here goes nothing,_ I thought, my shoulders tensing. "But sir," the woman blurted anxiously, wincing when a loud voice yelled something back at her. "Yes sir . . . of course, sir."

Placing the phone back down, she looked up, flush gone, and eyed Elijah and I cautiously. "It appears we have an opening after all," she said quietly.

"Excellent!" Elijah grinned, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Hear that, sis? Looks like we're staying after all."

"Great," I muttered with no enthusiasm. _Objectivity, Liv,_ I repeated to myself again, but ignoring the thought that Zed might be here was starting to get painful.

"Check if you want," Elijah mumbled, leaning closer for a moment while the receptionist booked us in.

"What?" I blinked.

"Zed," he shrugged. "Check."

I wanted to ask him why, but the look in his eyes kept me silent. The Kellys were supposed to know we were here, after all. Still . . . what if I couldn't find him? What if I could? Worse still, what if he was injured?

_You're overthinking,_ Elijah's voice came as he turned his back to me. _Stop it._

He was right, I had to focus. Pursing my lips, I let my thoughts wander back to Zed. Slowly, I mustered the courage to reach out for his mind. Normally, it was never too far away. Even now I could feel where he should have been, the constant connection keeping us together. And now, although I could tell he was still trying to block me out, I knew he was here, in this very building.

A thrill shot through me, and instinctively, I flinched forward. I needed to see him. I _had_ to know he was okay. In the same second, Elijah's hand wrapped around my wrist and he yanked me back to side with a scowl that looked completely alien yet incredibly terrifying. I blinked in astonishment and his expression relaxed.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Not used to dealing with soulfinders." He sounded torn between guilt and despair. My throat closed up. "It'll be okay, kid. Honest. We're getting him out of here." I nodded, a violent determination swelling in my chest. Damn right I was getting him out. If Matthews thought he could mess with my soulfinder in a sick attempt to see me break, then I'd show him he was wrong. He'd underestimated Zed, the Benedicts, the Redfields, _and _Alex and me.

The receptionist finally gave us the key to the suite and Elijah smiled at her, his previous intimidation nowhere to be seen. Lingering long enough to listen to the directions, we picked up our luggage and made our way to the elevator. The moment we were inside and alone, Elijah took a deep breath and straightened out, dipping his hand into his bag and pulling out a pistol.

He winked when I gawped at him. "Really thought we were going unarmed?" he mumbled, shoving it into a holster beneath his jacket. "Right, I need you to be ready now, Grace. This is it. We need this over and done, okay?"

"Okay," I managed, my voice strangely weak.

Thankfully, Elijah choose to ignore it. "When we get into the suite, I'm going to leave and head back down to the casino."

A flicker of fear rushed through me. "Okay," I repeated, weaker still.

His expression clouded in doubt momentarily. "You aren't facing your father here, Grace," he mumbled. "You can do this. If anyone can get Zed out of here alive, it's you."

I managed a small smile. "I know."

He grinned. "Good. Because I'd really rather the bad guys didn't win."

"You aren't the only one," I agreed quietly.

The elevator let us out on our floor and Elijah led the way into the suite. It was large, and far too ostentatious for me, but I didn't complain. Instead, I grimaced tightly as Elijah pointed out my room with a large grin. It was obvious he'd done this plenty of times before. He was far too at ease here in my opinion. Still, I left him flicking through the TV channels and slipped into 'my' room.

Placing my luggage on the end of the bed, I looked around the room anxiously. _So what now?_ I thought to myself. _Act normal? What's normal in this situation?_ Figuring I'd have to do something, I got to work unpacking my things and hanging them in the wardrobe.

I'd been working for about five minutes when Elijah popped his head around the door. "Hey, sis," he grinned, his eyes shining. "Settling in?"

"Sure," I shrugged, trying not to think too much.

"Good," he nodded, winking at me reassuringly. "I'm gonna head down and hit the casino for a bit. You'll be alright?"

_Stupid question,_ I thought dryly, but I managed to smile tightly. "What trouble could I possibly get into in a hotel room alone?"

Elijah's grin widened in amusement. "You make an excellent point," he replied. "I'll be back in an hour or so and we can get some food, yeah?"

I nodded again. "Sounds good." Shooting me a pointed, rather excited look, Elijah slipped back out of the room. I hesitated, running one of my shirts through my fingers until I heard the suite's door slam shut.

_This is it, _I told myself, taking several deep breaths to calm myself down, my hands shaking as I continued to unpack. _Time to do what do you best, Grace. Getting into trouble and managing not to get killed._

The first twenty minutes alone passed by so slowly, I was sure the torture had already started. I finished unpacking and curled up in front of the TV, twiddling my thumbs and chewing my bottom lip. I couldn't help thinking of Alex, and Thea, and my mother. I'd questioned for years whether or not she'd be proud of us. Surely now, that was no longer up for debate? She'd been in the Savant Net. In law enforcement. And no matter what the reason, here Alex and I were trying to take down a criminal family, risking everything to protect what we loved most.

I snorted as I remembered the argument Thea had had to have with my brother when we were told we were heading to Vegas. She'd refused point blank to stay behind, no matter how hard things got. I couldn't help agreeing with Alex though. It was bad enough the Kellys had found out about Zed and me, let alone Alex's connection to Thea. She was a good person. A great person, even, and after such a promising start, everything had gone horribly wrong and I'd barely said two words to her. She might as well have been my sister, and I hadn't given her a second thought since she became conscious. I might not have been a people person, but that was bad, even by my standards.

_You've got bigger fish to fry, Grace,_ I thought wryly.

The words had barely crossed my mind when the lock turned in the door ominously.

_Here goes nothing._


	16. Chapter 15: Grace

I heard the creak as it swung open. I tensed on the spot, my mind racing. _They're here,_ I managed to get through to Elijah, before my mind became oddly blank.

"Having trouble, Livy?" a sickly voice came, and I leapt to my feet as a skinny woman and a muscular looking bodyguard appeared in the doorway. "Well, well, it is a _pleasure_ to meet the famous Olivia Matthews," the woman sneered. "Gator, restrain her."

"Good luck," I growled back, and the man halted on his way toward me. Whatever he'd heard about me mustn't have filled him with confidence. A quick look was all I needed to know he wasn't a Savant.

"Don't be ridiculous," the woman spat. "You're surrounded, and we have what you want. Come with us, or your little boyfriend is dead. Understand?"

Oh, I understood. The sneering, arrogant tone in that woman's voice sent shudders down my spine and my eyes narrowed. Fear seemed to have been wiped out of the equation in her presence. I was too irritated, too determined to win. Straightening out, I stepped toward them slowly. "Hurt him, and I swear I'll kill you."

My voice was level enough, but neither of them could miss the promise behind them.

"Matthews or not, you don't scare me, little girl," the woman glowered. "Now keep quiet. Gator, take her." Looking less than pleased, the man named Gator grabbed my arms and hauled me out of the room.

_Keep it up, Grace,_ Elijah's voice came, and I almost jumped in surprise. My mind still felt blank, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break through to him. But he could get to me. _You're doing great, but stop thinking about me or we'll all be in trouble. They can't know who I am, remember?_

Immediately I tried to clear my mind. The best way I could think was to focus on Zed. That was the one thing they had to be expecting.

_Good girl,_ Elijah's approval came.

I ignored him. Fear was creeping up on me again. Zed . . . _please, please God let him be okay._

Gator dragged me down the hallway behind the sneering woman. God, I didn't think I'd ever wanted to punch some in the face more. In fact, maybe my fist wasn't strong enough. Maybe a shovel.

The woman didn't bother knocking when we reached a large boardroom shielded by frosted glass. Instead, she pushed the door open with a dramatic flourish, ignoring it when it hit Gator on the way in. I'd have snorted in amusement if I wasn't starting to get a building sense of impending doom.

On the opposite side of the room, a long meeting table sat surrounded by chairs, only four of which were occupied. One was the sneering woman who'd dropped into a seat by a younger man with a slimy look, a rounded belly and a Zorro-styled moustache. Another was an older man, dressed in an expensive suit with dark hair and a cheap, fake tan. The last chair was most certainly occupied, but it was turned away from me and whoever was sat in it was slouching so that I couldn't even make out the top of their head. All I could see was a few fingers hanging over the edge of one of the chair's arms.

"Ah, Miss Matthews," the older man smirked, pushing himself to his feet. "So glad you could join us. You're becoming quite famous in these parts."

"Pity," I glowered. "I barely know you at all."

The woman flinched in anger, but the older man laughed at me. "Quite something, isn't she?" he smiled. "What a shame you won't be staying with us. But what a sense of achievement, reuniting a family after all these years! We'll know that feeling soon enough."

My eyes narrowed a fraction. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, but if they thought I was going anywhere near my father, they had another thing coming. Squirming in Gator's hold, the henchman released me, mumbling something and slipping back out of the room.

"Now," the older man started, clapping his hands together. "Shall we get started? You, of course, _do_ know who we are, and if you don't now, you soon will. Your father and I will be working together for quite a while. My name is Daniel Kelly, this is my daughter Maria and my son Sean."

The woman, Maria, shifted irritably. "Is it such a good idea telling her our names?"

The older man, Daniel, laughed again, a grating noise that made my fists clench. "Won't matter one way or the other," he shrugged. "Her memory will be altered anyway."

"Altered?" I blurted indignantly.

Daniel stared at me for a moment. "Sean," he suddenly snapped, and the younger man stood up and moved toward me with an evil grin. Immediately, I made to move back, scowling as he approached me.

_ Relax kid!_ Elijah was suddenly saying in my mind. _Keep your barriers up and keep them out of your mind, and you'll be fine. Remember, the moment you know where Zed is, I will too and we'll move in. Got it?_

I still couldn't answer, but I had the feeling I didn't need to. For some reason, I couldn't talk to him but he was in my head. He could hear everything and see everything. Normally, that would freak me out to no end, but right now, I needed him and if he could help Zed, he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

_ I usually do, kid,_ his amused response came and I almost smiled.

"Something funny?" Sean grinned sickly at me.

"A few things actually," I shrugged, taking another few slow steps backward. "Your moustache ranking in the top three, along with your father's God awful tan."

Sean halted a moment in surprise, obviously not used to be spoken to like that and he glanced uncertainly back at his father. Daniel frowned. "Restrain her."

"Try," I dared immediately, glowering at him. Hesitating another second, he continued forward and reached out to snatch at my wrist. Pursing my lips in restraint, I let him pull me forward and hold both of my wrists behind my back.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Daniel sighed with a small shrug. "Bring her here."

I ground my teeth together and allowed Sean to push me forward until I was stood in front of Daniel Kelly. Behind him, whoever was in the chair twitched and I went rigid.

"Who is that?" I snapped before I could stop myself.

"No one of interest," Daniel smirked. "Just yet."

My jaw locked, and without thinking, I concentrated as hard as I could and forced my mind to clear. Suddenly, I felt my strength return and focused entirely on the person in the chair. It took seconds to break into their mind, and a familiar recognition flickered through me. My heart clenched tightly. _Zed?_

Shock radiated from his mind, and his fingers twitched, but he didn't turn or answer me. My stomach dropped painfully as I hurriedly sieved through his mind. He was badly hurt, confused, in pain, and . . . _mourning?_ Mourning who?

I dug deeper . . . and my blood ran cold. An image flashed through my mind; Zed, with his fingers tightening around _my_ throat.

"What the _hell_ did you do to him?" I snarled. An anger I'd never felt before rushed through me, making my body shake and my teeth grind together. A red mist descended over me, and my fists clenched at my sides.

_Grace! _Elijah's warning came. _We're moving in._

Daniel Kelly's face wavered in front of me. "We said you'd get him back. We never said he'd be in one piece."

_"What?"_

I reacted instinctively, breaking straight through their barriers with little resistance and slowing time right down. In the same second, I yanked my wrists out of Sean's hold and elbowed him in the face. My sight seemed to blur in anger, so much so that I barely noticed Daniel's eyes widening in pain when I slammed my palm into his throat. But his pain seemed to bring him back around, and his mind started to clear. Breaking through my manipulations, his hand locked around my throat as Sean dropped to his knees behind me, clutching his face.

"Little brat!" Sean spat as Maria leapt to her feet in surprise, blinking angrily.

"What was _that?"_ she shrieked.

Daniel ignored them both, his eyes locked on me furiously. "Do you have any idea how good it would feel to strangle the life out of you right now?" he asked through his teeth, his voice raspy and hoarse.

_Grace, hold on! _Elijah insisted, sounding distinctively on edge. _A few more minutes._

_ I can't buy more time here! _I yelled back, panicked as Daniel's fingers tightened around my throat.

"Matthews said one of you was enough," he was snarling. "We can still grab your pesky brother and ship him back. You, on the other hand . . . watching Benedict break down when I made him believe he'd killed you, it was priceless. I wished you'd seen it. Maybe I'll make you see it. Maybe I'll make it the less sane thought that crosses your mind before I choke the life out of you. You'll just have to trust me when I say I'll thoroughly enjoy your little boyfriend handing himself over to the FBI and his _big brother_ for your murder."

I choked loudly, squirming in his hold and gasping desperately for breath. Behind Daniel, Maria and Sean watched with identical frowns, and Zed still didn't move from his chair. Could he?

_Zed,_ I called desperately, and he flinched on the spot. _Zed, whatever they've done, whatever they've said, they're lying! Zed, answer me, please!_

Daniel's grip grew tighter, and I felt my head start to spin. In that second, I realised I didn't care if I died. All I needed was Zed to understand it wasn't his fault.

_Zed, goddamnit, look at me!_ I screamed angrily. And maybe it was the familiar personality clash that made him turn, but finally, he twisted to look behind him and his face fell. While I could feel him start to panic, I felt myself relax, my eyes drinking in the sight of him, bruised and beaten, but alive.

_Grace . . ._ his thoughts slowly answered mine. _Wait . . . no, Grace!_

Another image flashed through his thoughts, one I'd never seen before and one that made me freeze in shock. It was me and Zed, stood outside in the snow back in Wrickenridge, wrapped in each other's arms and both laughing loudly. Me . . . laughing? What on Earth-

My thoughts broke off when Zed suddenly lunged himself off his chair and tackled Daniel to the ground. His hands tore off my throat and I collapsed to the ground, coughing and spluttering as I tried to catch my breath. Maria screamed and Sean yelped, and through my blurry vision I could just about make out the two of them scrambling forward to grab Zed.

"Zed!" I exclaimed. Panicked, I reached for their mental patterns, a rush of relief sweeping through me when I realised they were too stunned to protect themselves. They'd barely made it a few steps when they halted on the spot, leaving Zed and Daniel struggling on the floor.

I tried to move closer, but everything was too weak. My mind struggled to keep hold of Maria and Sean, and my chest ached as I tried to catch my breath. Lungs searing and limbs shaking uncontrollably, it took a moment or two of helplessly observation before I could get to them.

Zed had been too weak to do much more than knock Daniel Kelly over, and the shock of his movement had been enough to keep Kelly down momentarily. But the man was slowly coming back to his senses, kicking Zed furiously in the stomach and pushing him away. "You people _never_ know when to stop fighting!" he yelled angrily, stumbling to his feet and snatching Zed's wrist. Hauling him to his feet, he clamped Zed's head between his hands.

Something like horror flashed across Zed's face, and he paled dramatically. "No!" Struggling, he pushed Daniel back and staggered back a few steps.

Yelling in frustration, Daniel immediately brought his hand back to the waistband of his trousers, and I just about had time to watch him pull out a pistol before he had it in Zed's face.

My life seemed to stop. In that moment, I'd never been more terrified in my life. I'd been through so much, struggled to cope under Matthews' roof, tormented myself with the idea of being a criminal while living on the streets, and finally found somewhere I belonged. Now, I was going to lose it all.

"No!" I screamed, clambering unsteadily to my feet and rushing straight at Daniel Kelly. He blinked in surprise, unable to move as I knocked his arm to the side in my panic.

"Grace!" Zed yelled, bolting forward and yanking me away from Kelly as the man staggered. Terrified, I immediately broke back into their minds as best as I could and tried to hold them back, wrapping my hand around Zed's and racing for the door.

Zed shoved the door open and we staggered through, running down the corridor and straight for the elevator. It pinged open before we even reached it, and a frowning, determined looking Elijah stumbled out. "In," he snapped at me, reloading his gun. "There's too many, we need to leave now." Without waiting for further instruction, I dragged Zed into the elevator and Elijah rushed in behind us, jabbing the button for the ground floor.

The moment the doors were shut, Zed spun me around and crushed his lips to mine desperately. I held my breath, sinking into him immediately as my lips moved against his. I could feel him shaking as he held me and I knew something was wrong. Something was _seriously_ wrong. He suddenly stepped back, letting go of me with a wince and dropping his gaze to the floor. He was frowning, shaking all over, obviously still upset. For a moment, I stood perfectly still, my stomach knotted and my breathing ragged.

"Zed?" I asked carefully.

"No," he mumbled, glaring at his feet and shaking his head. "No, you can't be here."

Elijah shot me a stern look over his shoulder, but I wasn't paying attention. Heart clenching, I took a cautious step closer to Zed and he flinched. I froze on the spot. "Zed, look at me," I plead quietly.

His face contorted in something like pain. "You can't be here. I watched you die, I . . ."

"Die?" I breathed, terrified. "I'm not dead! Look at me!" Zed's fists clenched in restraint, and suddenly, a horrible sense of déjà vu made me choke and stagger back a step. They couldn't be doing this to us. They couldn't be taking him away from me, not while he was so close.

"This isn't the place," Elijah muttered darkly at me, grabbing Zed's arm as the elevator doors opened again. "Stay close." Dazed and nauseous, I somehow managed to focus myself to follow him out of the elevator.

Nothing seemed different in the lobby, but I wasn't really paying attention. Elijah kept glowering around the room, like he was daring someone to stop him, as he dragged Zed through the lobby as quickly as possible with me trailing behind, forcing my legs to keep moving. The moment we were outside, Elijah bundled Zed into the passenger seat of the burgundy car we'd arrived in and opened the back door. "In," he snapped at me and I hauled myself inside.

"Zed," I gulped.

He tensed, locking his jaw. "Stop talking," he snarled through his teeth, and my heart sank. Eyes burning with tears, I slouched back into my seat as Elijah jumped into the car and immediately raced away from the casino.

For a second, there was complete silence. Then Elijah shot me a pitiful look in the rear-view mirror. "We'll fix it," he muttered.

I didn't believe him. I'd been here before. This sort of thing couldn't be fix. The Kellys had made Zed believe he'd kill me. He couldn't even hear me talk, let alone look at me anymore. How could that be fixed?

They'd broken him. Finally, Matthews had successfully taken everything from me. There was nothing left to fix.


End file.
